Nobody's Home
by Flying By Wire
Summary: Set after KH2, but the gang didn't get Mickey's letter. It hasn't been long since sora and Riku made it home after defeating Xemnas, in fact- things were finally going back to normal. That is, until a mysterious girl appears on the island with no recollection of what happened, let alone who she was. Just who is this girl? genre may change SoraxOC
1. Trust

**Alright, it's been a while since I wrote a KH story, huh?**

**This one is mainly to experiment with a new writing style I'm trying out...but if people like it, I'll write more to put out here. I'll probably write more regardless, but it might not end up here if it's unlikeable. I'm just surprised I haven't thrown in a curse word yet...maybe later. lol**

**As for those of you that already follow me(whatever you wanna call it) and are currently waiting on my other stories such as A Cup of Stars, My Vanitas and The Life of Star, I'm sorry. Some things happened and I...I just lost my will to write. Plus I think A Cup of Stars has officially been worn down entirely, along with My Vanitas it seems, sadly.**

**I've been trying to work on my own, original story. And now that's a stand still too because of classes.**

**Anyway, I'll stop rambling now. Don't forget this is based after KH2 but they haven't received Mickey's letter!**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**KH: Nobody's Home**

**Chapter 1**

**Trust**

_Metal clashes against metal, sending sparks flying in any and all directions. He aims a dark smile my way and pushes his own blade against my own._

_The next thing I know, I hear a voice cry out- my own- and my Keyblade is thrown out of my grasp. The darkening sky is all I can see as I fall into the sand._

"_Sora!"_

"Sora!"

My eyes spring open and I feel myself nearly falling again. An arm is in front of me and pushes me back by my chest. "Whoa there, Sora. Calm down." A voice chuckles, though a hint of concern is still discernible in his voice.

"R-Riku?" I stutter. "What happened?"

Riku frowns at me and rolls his eyes as he straightens himself again. "You were sleeping, until I got here anyway. Whatever you saw- it was just a dream. Alright?" He says, seemingly eager to get out of here as soon as possible.

"A dream…?" I look down at my hands and close one repeatedly- the one that had grasped the Keyblade desperately.

Suddenly random articles of clothing are tossed into my vision, followed by Riku's impatient grunt. "Get up already. Kairi's waiting for us at the docks, remember?"

"Oh! You're right!" I spring from my bed, my previous confusion long forgotten. I feel my naturally spikey hair bounce with every sudden movement I make.

"I'll be waiting outside, then." Riku announces as he leaves my room, I throw on a blue hoodie Riku tossed me earlier and a pair of dark jeans before clipping on my crown chain to my belt, my usual crown necklace already gleaming in the pale sunlight peeking through my thin curtains.

It hasn't been very long since we saved the worlds from Organization XIII- in fact, it's only been a few months, as it was nearly approaching Destiny Islands' surprisingly harsh winters. Since then, I haven't been able to leave again, so the worlds must no longer be connected. That meant we couldn't see everyone again… Unless we suddenly decided to start taking up using corridors of darkness or something, but I'm good.

Satisfied with my appearance, I rushed out of my room and bounded down the stairs, putting on my socks as I went and not too shy to make a racket that startled my mom either. She cried out when I jumped down the last five steps and she sighed heavily.

"Be careful Sora! I'm surprised you didn't roll down those stairs." I think she worries too much, but I haven't exactly been able to defend myself against her words. I was clumsy sometimes, I won't deny it.

I just chuckled and hurriedly tied my shoelaces. "Sorry Mom!" Being missing for a year didn't exactly help my case either.

I jumped to my feet as she handed me two slices of bread, they were crispy and slightly burned at the edges- so toast, actually.

"Have fun with your friends today. And don't be out too late." She reminded me and I nodded, taking the toast from her and swinging open the door.

"Got it- see ya later!"

I stuffed the corner of one of the toasted bread slices in my mouth happily. I'll never know what it is- the bread she uses, how she toasts it, or if she can suddenly use magic too- but my mom's toast just always seemed, well, better than everyone else's. Oh well.

"You ready?" Riku appears uncrossing his arms and smirking at my toast-filled face. I yank the bread away and grin.

"Yeah- let's go."

I nibble on my toast happily as we walk in silence. But then Riku decides to break it.

"That dream of yours must've been pretty bad to make you such a mess, in your sleep, no less." He says and I raise a brow at him in confusion.

"Hm?" I respond as I finally finish my breakfast. He frowns at me.

"You didn't notice? Dude, you were in a cold sweat and everything." He says and I blink. I seriously had no idea.

When I don't speak, he does again instead. "So, what was it about?" He asks and I cross my arms.

"Well… I can't really say. Not very much of it actually stuck," I run a hand through my hair and sigh in thought. "But I was fighting… Something. And there was a girl's voice, too." Riku's eyes widen at this before a smirk plays on his features.

"A girl, huh? Wait till I tell Kairi you've got a dream girl." He chuckles at the impossible to explain expression on my reddened face. He starts to walk ahead of me and I immediately fear the worst.

"Riku! Don't you dare!" I cry out and charge after him and he laughs, taking off into a run as well.

It was great to be home.

* * *

"There you are!" Kairi smiles at us from afar as we slows to a stop at the dock. Her auburn hair was tied back into a loose ponytail. "I was starting to think you guys got lost on the way." She laughed.

"Well Sora here probably would've." Riku smirks as he gestures to me and I scoff, elbowing his side hard.

"I would not!" I grin and turn to Kairi. "So what's the plan for today?" I ask.

"I figured we could go to the island one more time before it gets too cold to row over." Kairi was right, going to the island one more time wasn't be too bad an idea. When winter rolled in it was more difficult to use the oars from our boats.

"Sounds good to me," I run over to my own boat and untie it from the dock. "Come on, let's go!"

Riku and Kairi mutter something to each other and laugh- probably commenting on my rushed behavior- and untie their own boats as well.

The trip there was fast- I'd had my suspicions that it was already too cold for us- and by the time we had finished tying our boats again, it wasn't even noon yet.

The waves sway up and down the shore almost silently. My eye catches the paopu tree that we always sit on to watch the sunset.

Riku takes a step forward and jumps off the dock. "I'm gonna go check out the other side of the island." He says and he's gone before we can even nod. I see him flash a quick smile my way and I blink and shake my head.

"It feels strange being here again, sometimes," Kairi's voice tears me from my thoughts and I follow her off the dock. "Don't you think so?" She turns to me in question as she clasps her hands together absently.

"Yeah," I breathe. "But it'll always be home, right Kairi?" I grin at her when she laughs, but I pause after a moment. "Do you ever want to go back? To Radiant Garden, I mean."

She gets a thoughtful look in her eyes for a moment. "Sometimes. But- well that may be where I came from, but home is wherever you want it to be. And right now, I want to be here." She shrugs and wanders off to another part of the island.

"Wherever you want it to be…" I mutter and chuckle lightly before running a hand through my hair. She seemed to have gone toward the paopu tree, so I guess it couldn't hurt to check out the only place that's left.

The cave.

* * *

It's actually colder in the cave than it is outside, for a change. It's never felt this cold before… Like someone turned it into a freezer. I zipped up my hoodie as soon as I realized I could see my breaths coming out in white puffs.

A sound like something falling echoed throughout the cave and I frown. "What the…" Something closed, followed by a sharp intake of breath.

"Is someone there?" I call out. Did Riku or Kairi come in here before me when I wasn't looking somehow? We're the only ones here on the island- our boats were the only ones on the docks, too.

I get no response from the owner of the shallow voice. In a rush, I emerge from the tunnel into the more open room of the cave that was covered in our old drawings. The ever so mysterious door still stood firmly, except… There was something else here.

Well, some_one._

"It's… A girl," I breathe. A girl lay sprawled out on the ground in front of the door, unconscious. My eyes widen in realization. "Hey!"

I kneel down beside the girl and flip her on her back. She's got dark hair like Kairi's, except a little less red, her eyes are shut tight as if in pain. I touch her cheek with the back of my hand and lightly slap it a few times. No response.

"Are you alright? Come on, speak to me!" I exclaim, hearing footsteps echoing throughout the cave at a faster pace than my own. I carefully lift the girl's head up and lower my own until my ear is near her face. She's breathing, at least.

"Sora?" I lift my head to find Riku and Kairi staring at me in shock, or maybe the girl in my arms, or even both. Riku rushes over and glances at the mystery girl.

"What happened? Who is she?" He asks hurriedly. I shake my head.

"I don't know! I just walked in and found this girl here- like this! What should we do?!" I switch my gaze from Riku, to Kairi, and back again. My childhood friends share a look, they always knew what to do under pressure.

"Sora," Kairi starts. "Your mom's a doctor, isn't she?" I nod without hesitation and she gestures to the tunnel behind her.

"Let's get her to your house then. It's closer than the hospital anyway," She says and I blink. I feel that Riku is as surprised by her calm appearance as I am. "Hurry it up!"

I'm shaken from my thoughts immediately. "R-Right!" Riku helps me get the girl to her feet as I throw her arm across my shoulders, one hand holding her in place with the other around her waist firmly so she wouldn't fall over.

Riku and Kairi jump into their boats when I approach my own. Riku has a hand outstretched toward me. "I'll take her. Get on your boat, Sora."

"No, wait! I got it." I breathe. Riku raises a brow at me but backs down nonetheless as I set the girl in my boat, jumping on it afterward. Kairi's eyes watch me expectantly as we untie our boats again.

Nothing feels cold anymore, I realize as we row across the sea. Excitement like this can warm up anybody fast. I had moved the girl's head to my lap once we were on our way. I frown down at her unconscious form.

"Who are you?"

* * *

"Mom?" I call out into my house as Kairi opens the door for me and Riku, the mystery girl held up by the both of us. I goan when I get no response from even my own mother. "Mom! Are you here?"

"Alright, alright! Just hang on a second!" I sigh with relief when I hear my mom's hurried footsteps approaching us.

She enters through the back hallway with a notebook and pencil in her hand, her hair tied in a now loose bun and her glasses were slipping off the bridge of her nose.

"What's the big emergen-" She freezes upon seeing us and the sound of her things hitting the floor is all we hear. Until she reacts, that is. "What on earth happened?!"

She rushes over in a panic and has us lay the girl down on the couch. Riku lets go first, leaving me to do it myself. "We found her on the island like this. And you're a lot closer than the hospital, so…" Riku trails off, leaving the rest to click in my mom's head.

"Who is she? I've never seen her around before." My mom kneels down next to the couch and begins checking over the girl as we watch.

"We haven't either," Kairi says and sits on the arm of the couch. "She never woke up either, so we don't really know anything about her." She sighs and pulls the band out of her hair, letting it flow freely down her shoulders.

"Is she gonna be okay?" I ask, though my mom doesn't seem to hear me.

"No sign of injury…," She mutters, running her hands over the girl in a busy manner. Her hand stops on her forehead. "Or fever," She sighs and pulls away. "From what I can see, there's nothing wrong with her. Just to be safe, we'll keep her here for the time being; best not to move her for a while."

We all nod and my mom sighs heavily. Kairi glances around all of us and bites her lip. "So… Is there anything we can do?"

"What you can do is leave so I can take care of my new patient properly," My mom says with a smirk and I blink. "The day just barely started! Get out there and… Do whatever it is you kids do nowadays." She waves us off dismissively and I smile.

"Thanks Mom."

* * *

"What's your deal?"

I turn to Riku in question with a raised brow. Kairi was walking a ways ahead now, out of earshot.

"What're you talking about?" I ask and he frowns at me.

"The way you're acting with this 'mystery girl'. You get all protective like she's suddenly your best friend or something and yet none of us even know her name. What if she's dangerous?" He whispers to me sharply, just in case someone hears us after all.

"She's not a danger to anyone, Riku. I just… I feel it." I almost flinch at the hard look Riku gives me.

"You 'feel it', huh?" I nod and he sighs heavily. "And what about everything else? Care to explain that too?" He presses on. I bite my lip.

"She reminds me of myself, Riku," I pause when he gives me a confused expression and sigh. "When this whole thing got started, I just wound up in some world I knew nothing about and was found and woken up in an alley by a _dog. _Waking up alone in an unknown place is something you definitely don't want, Riku."

His mouth opens and closes as he's trying to come up with a retort, but can't. I lower my eyes for a moment before aiming a determined glance his way.

"Just let me do this. Please." I mutter and walk ahead of him without another word. Riku's own don't fail to reach my ears.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, Sora."

* * *

**So, yes? No?**

**Let me know please! It's been quite a while since I posted anything on here! Especially something like this- so help me out if you want more.**

**And again, sorry to those who are currently waiting on updates on my other stories...you'll probably have to wait a long while. If you really want to know why I can't write lately, then message me, maybe you can help me get my will back...**

**REVIEW BEFORE YOU FAVE/FOLLOW PLEASE AND SORRY IF THIS SUCKS ASS BUT YEAH**


	2. Memory

**Alright, so I never got any feedback on chapter 1 (you monsters) but I got one alert so whatever. Hopefully this time the fic will get a bit more attention**

**It's going to be a little difficult for me to write, what with class and light writers block, so expect updates at least once a week. That's all I can promise for now**

**Enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Memory**

"Hey Mom? I'm back!" I call out into the darkness of my house, catching the white, flickering light from my mom's room. She must already be asleep.

I turn after taking off my shoes and begin to shrug off my hoodie. I figure there's no harm in getting comfortable faster.

"Hello."

I yelp in surprise at the new voice and turn around to its owner. Who could up at this time? Certainly not my mom.

_Oh._

The mystery girl was sitting upright on the couch, looking at me with a blank, empty expression. She seemed to have flattened her bedhead slightly before resting her hands on her lap. Her dark eyes seem to gleam slightly in the pale light.

"Whoa- uh, hi. Don't scare me like that!" I laugh breathlessly and straighten myself out. "Glad to see you awake now though. Are you alright now?"

I sit on the chair across from her as she nods. There are dark circles under her eyes as if all those hours she'd been asleep had done nothing for her at all. I smile uneasily at her silence.

"Why am I getting the silent treatment? You already greeted me when I got home; come on, talk to me!" She bites her lip and lets out a shaky breath. Maybe she was just feeling nervous.

"I… I'm sorry. Uh…," She clears her throat and I blink when the empty look in her eyes fills ever so slightly. "Where am I supposed to start?" Her voice comes out as a whisper and I have to lean forward to catch it.

I grin. "Well, how about your name?"

My grin falters when she gets a troubled frown and leans back. "M-My name… It's uh…," Her eyes squeeze shut as her hand goes to her forehead. She shakes her head as if ridding it of a bad thought. "I can't remember."

My eyes widen in surprise. "'Can't remember'…? What _do _you remember? Like, how you got here on Destiny Islands?"

The girl takes a moment to think before sighing and shaking her head. "Nothing. I don't remember anything."

She looks like she's about to cry and I frown. I stand up and make my way over, kneeling down in front of her. She's shaking.

"Well for the time being, why don't I give you one?" She gives me a confused look.

"One what?"

"A name," Her eyes widen and I chuckle. "Calling you 'mystery girl' is gonna get old real fast, after all."

I expect a laugh but don't get one. I don't let my disappointment show, though I wonder how hard it might be to even pretend to be happy when you have full-on amnesia.

"I suppose that would make sense." She mutters, almost as if she's afraid to let her appreciation show. I grin and pace about the room randomly.

"Let's see…," I look to her in question. "Mimi?" She gets a sour look and shakes her head. I fight back a chuckle.

"What's yours?" She asks and I blink.

"My name?" I point to myself and she nods silently. "Sora. My name's Sora."

"I see…," She lowers her head and looks off to the side. "That's a very nice name."

I feel my cheeks heat up slightly and I shake my head frantically. I barely know this girl! Hell, she doesn't even know _herself. _Just one compliment isn't going to fire me up- that's stupid.

"Alright…," I trail off and begin pacing again in deep thought. I feel her eyes on me as I go. "Ai?" Another shake of the head.

"Skye?" She shoots me a look and frowns.

"Isn't that… Egotistical?" She asks and I frown instead.

"It's what-now?"

She bites her lip and shakes her head. "Never mind." I open my mouth to press on but hold my tongue. _Forget it for now, _I think.

"Okay? Well, how about… Oh!" I grin wide and jump in her direction, pointing a finger at her. "Hikari."

She cocks her head to the side curiously. "Hikari?"

I nod happily. "Yeah! It means 'light'. So what do you think?" She takes a moment to think and seems to mutter the word under her breath, possibly testing it out a little.

She looks at me and nods. "That's fine." I chuckle lightly and extend my hand out to her. She looks at it with confusion and I smile.

"Nice to meet you, Hikari," She doesn't return the gesture and I can't help but chuckle a second time. "Come on, you can't have forgotten so much as to not even know what a hand shake is. Put 'er there."

She just blinks and reaches up until her small hand just barely touches my own. I grin and grab her hand, shaking it up and down. "See?"

For a moment it seems as if she wants to pull away from me, but instead she moves her hand about on her own. I smile and pull away, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Alright. Well, it's getting late. You should get some more rest, okay?" She pauses and nods, shifting slightly on the couch so as to get more comfortable.

"Alright." She says as I start to go up the stairs. I pause for a moment and turn to her.

"Goodnight, Hikari." I call out. I don't expect a reply, so I keep going up the stairs.

"Goodnight… Sora." I hear when I close my door.

* * *

"Sora? Sora, wake up!"

My mom's voice tears me from my slumber and the moment I sit up in my bed with a yawn, she's bursting into my room.

"Mom? What's the matter?" I ask drowsily. It takes me a moment to notice her panicked expression.

"The girl- she's gone!" That wakes me up.

"What?" I ask with a troubled frown. My mom lets out an impatient grunt. Her hair was already falling free from where it had been tucked behind her ear.

"She wasn't on the couch when I woke up. She wasn't in the bathroom or the kitchen either- I don't know where she went! She was in no shape to up and about as it is!" I can tell my mom is freaking out even worse the more she talks. I'm alert now.

I rise from my bed and immediately begin to get dressed. I don't even care that my mom is just watching me with a mixture of confusion and fear on her face.

"I'll go look for Hikari, okay?" She blinks at me.

"Hikari? You talked to her last night?" She frowns as if in deep thought and I smile.

"Yeah. She needed a name, after all," I say and she rests her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation. I lower my eyes. "She couldn't remember her name, so we came up with a new one."

My mom's eyes widen, but if she plans on replying, I don't give her the chance to. "I'll go find her, Mom!" I run out of my room and down the stairs, ignoring her protests. "We'll be back soon!"

"Hikari just has to be somewhere around here…" I mutter to myself after heading outside and running down the road. I blink when something comes to mind.

Maybe she'll be there.

* * *

"Hikari!"

I spot her by the docks. She didn't even budge when I called out her name. "Hikari!" She was even still wearing the same clothes she'd had when we found her- a navy blue tunic with black and white designs on the hem, a faded brown leather belt revealing her curved, thin body through the large shirt, and white shorts that looked a little too big for her. A bracelet on her left wrist shined in the pale morning light.

"There you are!" I gasped as I came to a stop just behind her, my hands on my knees to catch my breath. "Hikari- why'd you leave? It's not safe!" I seem to go unheard and I glare at the back of her head. "Hikari!"

"I'm sorry," Her voice sounds hollow, as if she's actually somewhere else that's not in her own body. I frown when she speaks up again. "What's that?"

There's only one thing she could be looking at.

"The island?" I ask first. She nods. "That's where we found you," I pause for a moment and look at her expectantly. "Do you… Remember how you got there?"

She looks as if she's trying to remember, but still doesn't want to. She then shakes her head. "I don't…"

I raise a brow at her in confusion and shake my head, grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's go back, okay? My mom's freaking out wondering where the hell you went." I begin to pull her along.

"Hey Hikari?" She looks at me in question and I smile. "If anything's bothering you, you can always tell me, okay? It's what friends are for." Her eyes widen uncharacteristically at my statement.

"Friends…?" I nod and chuckle.

"Of course! You haven't forgotten what friends are too, have you?" Her static form answers my question for me. "Friends don't care where you come from or what you've done, they're just here for you because they care."

"But… I don't know either of those myself." She mutters, a sad tone hidden in her voice.

"It doesn't matter," I grin wide when she shoots me a surprisingly irritated look. "We'll help you get it all back, I promise. For now, we can just pretend you're from the island." I laugh and she nods silently, looking behind us as we go.

She keeps looking at the island until it's completely out of sight.

* * *

Hikari stays silent for the rest of the morning. Though that's probably nothing out of the ordinary at this point, but it's as if her mind is elsewhere instead. She just eats the breakfast my mom gives her, then stares off into space when she's given one last check to make sure she's really okay.

Well, as okay as _amnesia _is, anyway.

"You seem to be just fine, Hikari," My mom says as she stand from the couch. "We can even go around town later, if you'd like. Soon enough it's going to be too cold for those clothes you're wearing." She smiles and gestures to Hikari's outfit. She just looks down and nods silently after blinking.

"What about her amnesia?" I ask. My mom frowns.

"Well, I can't say what it's been caused by; a blow to the head, a traumatic experience…" She trails off when my eyes widen.

"Traumatic?" It's rhetorical, we all know, but it's still one that we all want the answer to. I glance at Hikari who seemed to be thinking the same thing, judging by the troubled look on her face. There were no injuries, so what can't she remember that's so horrific?

"It doesn't matter," Hikari cuts in, surprising me since she hasn't spoken in quite a while. I look at her expectantly when she takes a breath to speak again. "What happened, I suppose. You two… I have… Friends."

My mom blinks and looks over at me. "Have you been putting cheesy ideas into peoples' heads again?" She flashes a teasing smirk my way when I scratch my neck and look off to the side.

"Who? Me? No way!" I chuckle and my mom just pats my head and walks away.

Hikari watches us with some curiosity.

* * *

"So Hikari, you gave us a pretty good scare the other day."

Kairi laughs at her own words, for the moment looking past Hikari's blank expression. Riku stands beside me with his arms crossed.

"You _would _come up with a name like that." He says and I raise a brow at him.

"Huh?"

He casts a teasing glance my way. "Come on, Hikari? Seriously? Sure it's nice- but you didn't really bother to think outside the box with that one." He smirks at my pout and I shove him mockingly.

"Whatever! It's not like naming a pet or something; let's see you do it next time somebody with amnesia shows up at your doorstep." I say and he just shrugs.

"Just don't forget, Sora," He says and I lower my eyes, knowing what he's going to say. "There's always a chance that this could go badly; _never _forget that."

"I know, Riku, I know… But I think we're safe," I glance at Hikari with Kairi who talks about going shopping with my mom later- a girls' day, basically. "She's a nice girl, Riku. Plus, we're all she's got; it's not like she can just go to some other person's house or something." The reasoning in my voice makes Riku groan.

"Fine, whatever. But if she becomes a problem, don't come crying to me," He stands up straight and walks away from me. But he pauses once and half-turns to me. "I'll finish her myself."

I watch him leave with some dismay. It's understandable why Riku is the way he is- he still felt the darkness in his heart- but I still believe that Hikari isn't a danger to anyone at all.

I glance over at her again. She's tucked some of her dark hair behind her ear.

But I can't fight this feeling- the feeling that something is coming- whenever I look at her. That when she showed up on the island…

That something came with her.

* * *

**Ooh intense shit goin on up in here! Is Riku right about Hikari? What if something really did follow her? OH SNAP YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT SORRY NOT REALLY**

**I feel like I should've put the first part of the chapter at the end of the last one instead. but meh, too late now**

**PLEASE review. This new writing style I'm trying out needs advice! Along with the story itself but yeah. And I realized last night as I was finishing this that I don't include Kairi in much of anything...hmm...I'll try to fix that next time**

**So REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter**


	3. Try

**Alright got a new chapter...I really liked writing this one actually.**

**It's really interesting to write Hikari's stuff. She knows so little, so it's pretty fun writing in her POV when someone exhibits feelings she doesn't understand yet. Like anger, love...stuff like that**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Try**

"Hikari?"

Said girl continues to stare off into the distance, standing at the very edge of the dock. She continued to wear the clothes she'd come here in, but my mom doesn't let her leave the house without at least a scarf on. The cloth covers her mouth and almost her nose.

"Hikari." I still get no response. She does this every day now- staring at the island as if something were there waiting for her.

Maybe there is, for all I know.

"Can I go there?" She asks and I sigh softly. She asks that every day now, as if she now has short-term memory loss on top of full-on amnesia… A scary thought, for sure.

"Hikari, remember? I've told you before that we can't go to the island until it warms up again- the boats might get damaged out there," I walk over and stand by her side and fold my arms, looking at the island with her. "We'll go after the holidays, okay? I promise." I turn to smile at her, and, for the first time, she averts her eyes from the island to look at me instead and nods.

"Okay." She actually sounds a little disappointed this time and I chuckle and reach a hand up to pat her head, messing up her hair a little. She doesn't even care.

* * *

"Mom! I'm going out with Riku and Kairi now- see you later!" I call out to my mom as I swing open the door, letting in the cool air.

"Why don't you take Hikari with you?" She asks, walking into the room with a book in her hand. I blink.

"Well she seems…," I glance over at Hikari who's sitting at the table and seems to be drawing something absently. "Busy?"

"Sora," My mom's voice brings me back to attention. "Being around kids her own age might help jog her memory. You never know what could trigger something; so please?" She flashes that smile that says I can't refuse and I nod, walking over to Hikari who suddenly stops drawing as if feeling my presence.

"You wanna come with me, Hikari? It could be fun!" I ask with a grin. She looks up at me with the usually empty look in her eye and nods.

"Okay." She says and goes to put her shoes on- loose black boots that my mom claimed looked rather comfortable time and time again.

I take my chance to look at what she was drawing- sometimes we'd catch Hikari doodling random things the moment a paper was nearby, we always wonder if they're connected to her memories- and I raise a brow at the paper and frown.

A drawing of a drawing, it seemed, many drawings. It looks like an art studio of sorts. Maybe that's Hikari's job? An artist? Wherever she's from, I'm sure they miss her and want her to come back to work.

_But we have no clue where "work" even is. _I think frustratedly. Amnesia's becoming too much of a hassle lately.

Maybe something we do today will jog her memory, after all, we're getting closer to a breaking point here. These drawings can't just be a hobby of hers already, anyway.

"Can we go now?" I turn and Hikari's watching me, her brown eyes glancing down at her drawing with disinterest. I nod and come over to her, pulling down her scarf to her chin so I can see her entire face.

Then she actually jerks back as if my touch burned her and my eyes widen before I can say "Yeah, let's go", she pulls her scarf back up again, a sudden surprised gleam in her eye.

"… H-Hikari?" My mom stutters behind her. Hikari closes her eyes for a moment as if in thought and bows her head.

"I… I'm sorry. That was rude of me." She looks scared. We both see it and she knows we do. She's out the door in seconds, leaving me and my mom in shock.

I don't take time to stand around anymore and run out the door as well. "We'll be back later Mom, bye!" I call absently and hurry after Hikari who seems to be wandering aimlessly.

"Hikari!" I slow down next to her, she doesn't look at me. She's in a daze. "Hey, are you alright? What happened back there? If I hurt you or something, I-"

"I think I remembered something." Her voice cuts through my concerns and replaces them with surprise.

"You did? Really?" I breathe. After a moment she nods, as if she doesn't really want to. "That's great! What'd you remember?"

She stops walking. It takes me a second to stop as well and I turn toward her curiously. She's got this look in her eye… I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm guessing it shook her up pretty badly. It's almost unnerving that she's showing a bit more emotion these days.

Her hand goes to her chest and clenches into a fist. I frown. "Hikari…? What was it?"

Hikari seems to be fighting herself for a moment, then, the blank expression is back again. Maybe it's a front, but it's pretty convincing.

"It's not real." She mutters and I blink.

"'Not real'…? Hikari, what're you talking about? How could it not be real?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"I remembered a dream. It had to have been a dream," She ignores my confused stare and mutters under her breath something I can barely catch. "Only explanation…"

I start to respond, but Hikari comes up to me before I can even take a breath. "Where are we meeting your friends?"

I sigh, knowing she doesn't plan on talking about it anymore. I gesture to the road ahead of us. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

We walk in complete silence. Hikari may still have the empty look in her eyes, but whatever she remembered is clearly still nagging her at the back of her mind.

Maybe one day, when she remembers enough, she can tell me more about the real Hikari. Not the one I came up with the name for.

* * *

"Hey Sora!" Kairi greets us with waves and smiles, her winter layers swaying in the light breeze. Riku stands beside her and nods at us.

I wave back and Kairi switches her gaze to Hikari. "Hi Hikari. How's it going?" She asks.

Hikari nods at her as Riku did. Maybe she's trying to pick up some ideas on how to interact from us? "Hello," She blinks and a flash of emotions sweeps across her eyes for a moment. "Fine."

Kairi clearly notices Hikari's change and glances at me. I shrug helplessly. She grabs Hikari's hand and pulls her along further into the shopping center. "Come on! It'll be fun!"

Riku walks up to me as soon as they're out of ear shot. "What's her problem?" He asks with a frown.

"Hikari said she remembered something," His eyes widen as we start to follow the girls. "Seemed to be a bad memory though… She thought she'd just remembered a dream."

Riku sighs heavily and I frown. "What's _your _problem?" He shoots me a look that for once doesn't faze me.

"Are we _ever _going to know anything about her, Sora? If this is how it's going to be- sooner or later it's going to get suspicious."

"Riku," I groan. "Just leave her be, alright? If it keeps up then I'll talk to her- happy now?" I ask exasperatedly. He nods after some hesitation.

"Fine, but I still don't like it." He mutters.

"You've never even talked to her Riku." He raises a brow at me. I narrow my eyes.

"What? It's not like she has much to say." He reasons, turning his attention to the sidewalk. Kairi talks animatedly to Hikari who seems to be trying her best to give reasonable responses. I guess even Hikari doesn't want to be in silence anymore.

"Just give her a chance." I mutter and run up ahead to the girls and stand beside Kairi, joining in their conversation easily.

Hopefully Riku will change his mind about Hikari soon. She's harmless, after all.

"You know what, Hikari?" Kairi turns to said girl in question.

"What is it?" Hikari asks and inwardly we're all glad that she's more responsive.

"_I _think we should go clothes shopping," Kairi grins at Hikari's confused expression. "Well you only have the clothes we found you in, after all."

Hikari frowns and glances at me as if searching for confirmation. I nod with a reassuring smile. "Alright. I suppose."

"Great!" Kairi takes her hand and immediately starts pulling her along, actually alarming the poor girl who attempts to pull away at the feeling, but to no avail.

Hikari is thrown into random articles of clothing for some time, though Riku and I tire of it fast, there's not much else to do. So we stay and watch the girl be subjected to the Kairi version of "torture".

She does _not _enjoy it.

Despite being unable to show the irritation or fear that most people would at times like this, the discomfort was still very clear on her features. She'd try to slip away when Kairi wasn't looking, but it was as if the redhead had sense for these kinds of things. There was no escape.

I wasn't sure whether to feel bad for her or just laugh about it.

* * *

"People die when they are killed."

Riku turns to the voice with a raised brow. Hikari stands beside him, a smoothie of some kind in her hands as she stares on ahead. But no one else is close enough to hear her, so is she talking to him?

She looks over at him and the usual empty look in her eyes unnerves Riku. "Do they not?" She questions further. Does she really not understand the concept of dying and killing?

"Of course they do, it's the same thing," Riku sighs, running a hand through his silver hair. He casts a quick glance at the girl before crossing his arms and looking on ahead as she does. "People are killed by someone, then they've been killed. They're dead. Nothing else to it," He says and frowns at her. "Why?"

Hikari bows her head, letting her bangs fall down in a straight line, almost as if she's ashamed for asking such a thing. Something flashes in her eyes for a moment. "I…"

"Is it something you remembered?" He asks again and she visibly flinches. Perhaps at the tone of his voice or the question itself. It's unclear.

"Perhaps…" She mutters. Riku narrows his eyes and uncrosses his arms, one grabs her shoulder and forcibly turns her body toward his own, an actual scared look in her eye for a moment. But just like that, it's gone, replaced by the emptiness as if she'd forgotten about the feeling.

"Listen _Amnesia," _He starts, choosing not to use the name given to her as he gets in her face. "Whatever's going on in that messed up head of yours, you tell us everything. Every. Little. Thing," He emphasizes sharply. "Because if one little bit of it is off, you're outta here. You endanger Sora, his mother, or me and Kairi, you're _gone. _You're a mystery to us. And that's dangerous."

He stands up straight again, ignoring the quick alarmed flash in her eyes. "If you wind up a danger to us, I'll kick you out myself. I don't care what Sora says." And with that he's gone. Maybe off to go find Kairi.

"Hikari!" I call out, coming over to the girl with food-filled bowls in my hands. Her back is to me. "Hey, where'd Riku go? Anyway- I got us some food, here," I place the bowls on the table. Hikari still hasn't turned around and I frown. "Hikari? You okay?"

I rest my hand on her shoulder and feel it shaking under my touch. Hikari seems to fight with herself for a moment, she draws a shaky breath.

"I'm fine," She swallows, but I still hear the tone in her voice that's never been there before. "I'll be right back."

"Hikari, wait-" But she's already gone, toward the bathroom not far off from where I am. "What was that about?" I mutter to myself.

I sit back down at our table and just wait. Riku must've gone to find Kairi and that's why he's not here anymore. Did he say something to Hikari while I was gone? That's actually pretty likely…

I sigh and stare into my bowl, the steam having already faded into nothing as I stir the noodles around with my chopsticks. Hikari's own bowl sat abandoned across from me, looking lonely with no one in front of it.

"Hey Sora," Kairi comes up from behind me and sits down. I don't see Riku, but I know he's not far behind. "Where's Hikari?"

"She's…," As I thought, Riku comes up as and sits down as well, only silently. He looks rather triumphant but masks it with a bored expression. I ignore it for now. "In the bathroom."

Kairi nods and stands up again. "I think I'll go too." She smiles and heads over in the same direction Hikari went. I sigh lightly.

"What's with you?" Riku asks and I shoot a pointed look his way.

"Me? What about you?" I fire back accusingly and he frowns at me.

"I didn't do anything, Sora," He sighs and leans back in his chair. "Just got my point across, is all."

"Riku, I said you should give her a chance, not scare her stiff!" I scoot my chair back a bit, almost ashamed to be sitting at the same table as him. "She can't do anything- especially not right now. You're not exactly making her feel at home."

"She's _not _at home. She has no home here- that much is obvious. In fact, that's all we even know about her- that she's a stranger. You're just too nice for your own good." He growls under his breath as if that last statement reminded him of something else.

"I know you don't trust her, okay? But come on, she hasn't even been here all that long. Don't tell me all that time with King Mickey just made into the most untrusting person in the worlds." I cross my arms, wishing for the moment that the King was indeed here with me. He could probably talk more since into Riku.

"Not untrusting. Careful." He says and I roll my eyes.

"More like paranoid." I mutter and he sighs.

"Sora-" He pauses, taken aback by the look I aim his way and he lowers his eyes for a moment. "Fine. I'll try. Happy now?"

"Hikari isn't," I say. "Not after what you said. It's not me you should be trying to help, after all. It's her. If we didn't find her, she'd probably have been stuck on that island until winter was over since we don't go back. You know what it's like to be alone that long like that?" I ask. Riku bows his head.

"Of course."

"Well, there you go." I say. It almost feels like I'm being too mature in this moment, but I ignore the feeling for the moment.

"Okay, okay, fine. I'll talk to her." He groans loudly and stands from his seat just as Kairi is coming back. She sits next to me with a troubled expression.

"Hey was Hikari… Different, when you saw her last? She wasn't leaving the stall." Kairi said worriedly and I shook my head with a small smile. Riku stopped close to the bathroom just as the door started to open.

"She'll be okay."

* * *

Hikari exits the bathroom, feeling no less saddened by Sora's friend's words than she had when she entered in the first place.

Why did it bother her so much? She wasn't sure. Everything felt so new and undiscovered to her. She wasn't even sure what this emotion she was currently feeling was that has her hands shaking and her head spinning.

Sora's mother got her to watch something she called a movie once, the people in it react the same way as she does now- his mother says it's called "fear".

So that's it. But what is she afraid of? Riku? Her memories if they betray her, whether they only bring up more questions rather than answers?

Or maybe…

"Hey."

The familiar voice tears Hikari from her thoughts with a start. Speak of the devil… Riku stands just a few feet away from her with his hands in his pockets.

"Hello." She responds, a tremble in her throat makes her words sound strangled. You're supposed to always greet each other, right? Riku raises a brow at her but then averts his eyes.

"Look, I…," He cuts off into an irritated sigh and runs a hand through his hair. Hikari takes that moment to move out of the way of people coming to the bathrooms as well and she stands beside the boy against the wall. "I'm sorry."

That gets her attention. She looks over at him in what she's come to believe is confusion. "Why?" She asks. He frowns.

"What? Are you serio-" He stops again and blinks before sighing. "Right, forgot I'm talking to Amnesia here." He says, a low growl hidden in his tone.

Hikari doesn't speak. She waits for him to continue and that seems to annoy him even more.

"What I said before- it was out of line, so I'm sorry. You're… You're memories are personal things anyway, so… You don't have to tell us everything." Riku seems to have trouble with doing things like this. Hikari understood, to a point. It seems difficult to have to take back what you feel so strongly about.

She knows he's right though, to them, she should be nothing more than a complete stranger, even to herself. Just someone you pass on the sidewalk and never think about again. She still didn't understand, however, why these people have been so kind to her and even gave her a new name when she didn't have one to call her own. Sora says they're friends, but the concept is still foreign to her.

Hikari feels Riku's eyes on her, waiting for a response.

"I see," She says, then she looks over at Riku. He doesn't seem to like it when she does that though. "But I don't understand."

"What?" He raises a brow at her. Her expression doesn't change. "What don't you understand?" He asks.

"Why you apologize when what you say is true," Her words catch Riku off guard. "It's true. I'm just a mystery; a stranger to all of you, including myself. Someone somewhere, though, knows me… But now I…," She takes a breath and averts her eyes for a moment. "I'm nothing but a figment."

Riku opens his mouth to speak up, but Hikari keeps going. "You are right to not trust me. You may be right to finish me off- to kill me. When you do, I'll be dead. I felt…," She looks at her hands, clenching them in shaking fists. "When you spoke to me, I felt far away. My hands shake, and I feel cold. But this… What is it?"

When she looks to Riku for an answer, he doesn't have the same look in his eyes. The fire that threatened to end her was no longer there and was replaced with… Something else she couldn't understand.

"Fear," He says. "What you felt was fear. I'm sorry I scared you, I-"

"Not you," She cuts him off. He blinks confusedly at her. "Your words."

"My words…?"

"Yes. Because, if I am a danger," She turns away from him to look toward Sora and Kairi. They're both laughing and talking animatedly, that familiar redness to their cheeks his mother tries to explain to her, but always fails at doing so. "Then I'm a danger to all of you. That means… Hurting you. Hurting Sora. Hurting his mother. Hurting Kairi. Hurting… Friends," She then glances at Riku. He has a funny face now. One who's emotion she can't place. "Are we… Friends?"

It takes Riku a second to compose himself. Then, he smiles at her. "Sure."

Hikari bows her head in thanks and starts to walk off again, but then stops and turns to him again.

"Hikari."

He raises a brow at her. "Huh?"

"My name," She says. "Not Amnesia. Hikari. The name from…" She suddenly feels something strange when thinking about Sora giving her the name "Hikari", as if it's what creates the bond they are slowly forming in her mind.

"Right, right… Hikari. I got it." Riku says, tearing her from her thoughts yet again.

Hikari nods and then goes back to the table with Sora and Kairi. Riku shakes his mind free of the strangeness that is the forgetful girl given the new name.

Strangeness… That he could probably live with for a while after all.

* * *

**Anybody else remember that terrible anime subbing meme thing with the guy going "People die when they are killed!"? I thought of it randomly so I thought, with Hikari being Hikari, I could put it in without it being the worst writing known to man lol**

**Oooohhhhhhh what did she remember? WHAT IS IT YOU'LL NEVER KNOW (you will later of course anyway because PLOT) but yeah lol**

**So what'd you think? Good? Bad?**

**REVEIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**Thank you!**


	4. Hot Chocolate

**Alright we got a new chapter, about time. I've been working on this one every chance I got even right after putting up the last chapter!**

**I'm really happy with how this one turned out...I'm still getting used to this new writing style, but it's actually pretty easy to work with. I recommend it if you wanna try something new. Plus I just love writing Hikari's personality- or lack thereof- and how she's still learning everything again. It's rather refreshing...so I think this is officially my favorite fic to write. Not my all-time favorite I've done, you know, but to write...ugh, you know what I mean**

**Hope you enjoy it as much as I did**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Hot Chocolate**

"_What's your dream, -?"_

_Whatever the last word he says is cut off, interrupted by what sounds like static. The sky is blue, the clouds rolling along as slow as ever. The feeling of grass underneath is both soft and not._

"_My dream? Wow… I never really thought about it, actually. Why? What about you?" Another voice comes in- Hikari's own- and the view of the sky is shifted to the right. It stops when landing on a boy looking at her with a smile on his face. His hair was black and messy, bright green eyes turning back to the sky._

_Hikari feels something stirring in her at looking at this boy. She found it hard to breathe, and warm. What was this feeling? She didn't know yet._

"_Fight for the cause, duh. Gotta be productive at least, right?" He laughs._

"_Please, we all know the Rebels are getting nowhere fast. If you really want to be productive, why don't you just continue the family business?" Hikari's voice sounds different, yet still the same._

"_-," The word he can't say is spoken again as he looks at her. "The Rebels are working to make our world a better place. Xanoon, the world known only for its struggles. Don't you want to see something good happen around here before we're gone?"_

"_Of course I do." Her voice sounds distant for a moment as she turns back to the sky._

_No more words are spoken. The boy sits up and suddenly he's obscuring her vision. He aims a soft smile her way. That feeling she doesn't understand is back. "Alright, what's on your mind?"_

_Hikari groans and shoves him aside to sit up as well. "Nothing's on my mind, -," There's a word she can't say either. He gives her a pointed look. "Alright, fine."_

_She takes a breath, her hand intertwines with the other and she watches them intently. "I just… Don't want anything to happen to you," She says quickly, for a second she thinks he didn't even hear all of it. "But it must be nice, having a dream. Having it all planned out." She sighs._

_The boy takes a moment of silence. "It is," He says. "You have the talent to go somewhere great though, -. You could do whatever you want with it and no one's going to stop you." Hikari turns to him, feeling what she's learned is confusion._

"_Maybe so, but if you join the Rebels, then… Then I won't be able to do anything from here. I can't stop you from doing anything stupid. I can't help you out on late nights at your family's clinic. I can't…" _I can't save you when you're hurt. _She hears herself think._

_Suddenly she feels a warmth on her hands and the boy is looking right at her, his own hands the ones covering hers._

"_Then come with me," He says. There's a light in his eyes- a flame. "You can come with me. We won't be apart, so you won't have to worry, -. It'll be great."_

_Hikari feels herself leaning back slightly, taking a shaky breath. "I don't know… I mean, what could I possibly do to help those guys? Plus, what if we run into…" She trails off. Run into what?_

_The boy just shakes his head. "There's plenty of things you can do. They have tons of different jobs, after all. And if we see -, then…," He lowers his head for a moment. Hikari feels another feeling inside her, but is, again, not sure what it is. He looks up again and smiles. "It'll be fine. We'll come up with something if we have to."_

_She averts her eyes. "I guess…," Her hand squeezes his. "Well, someone has to keep you out of trouble, after all." She feels something tugging at her lips as she speaks. The boy's eyes glitter with something she doesn't know._

"_Thanks -," The word he can't say. Hikari's view of him shifts again and she's looking straight ahead instead. The world is slightly tilted as she feels herself lean against something- the boy? "You know what? I bet you'll find your dream with us. Doing something while searching for it is better than doing nothing."_

"Hikari?"

Said girl actually let out an almost silent yelp of surprise as she woke up falling off the couch. I roll my eyes and laugh as she hurriedly props herself up on her hands, her arms hidden by the thick blanket draped over her body.

"Morning," I say and crouch down in front of her. Her eyes are wide with shock that I can see through her hair falling over her face. "Sorry if I scared you, Hikari. But you were just sleeping so long, we had to wake you up sooner or later." I chuckle when she nods slowly and I stand, making to walk away.

"Sora?" She starts. Her voice sounds distant, as if she's only talking to me to make it seem like she's not lost in thought or something. I turn to her in question. "What's your… Dream?"

I raise a brow. "My dream?" She doesn't nod. But I know she doesn't need to either. "I've never really thought about it, but I guess… To keep those I care about safe."

Hikari lowers her head in thought. "Those you care about…" She mutters.

"Yeah… Why do you ask?" I ask and fold my arms over my chest. She takes a breath.

"A memory…," She trails off and leans against the couch. "My dream was… A memory."

This gets my attention. "Really? You remembered something?" I ask eagerly. She nods. "What was it? Did you remember your name this time?"

"No. There was a boy and he said… I think I know where I came from." She says and looks at me. She seems to be still trying to piece everything together.

"Really? Where?" I sit down beside her now, choosing to ignore the mention of the boy. Wonder why? If anything, he could help her if we ever find him.

"Xanoon," She says. "Do you know where that is?" She asks, an actual hint of hope in her voice. I almost bite back my words, knowing that when I reply, that hope will be gone.

"No, I don't. Sorry," There it goes. That small light in her eyes is gone. Right now I wish I could contact King Mickey or Yen Sid somehow, they know all the worlds out there. "But at least we know for sure you're not from Destiny Islands. You're from another world entirely!" I say and she nods again.

"Another world… There's more than this one?" She asks. I nod, but then blink.

"Wait… If you're from another world, then… Then how did you get here?" I ask, though mostly to myself, knowing Hikari won't have an answer. The connections between the worlds have already been severed, there shouldn't be any way to travel to new ones anymore.

I shake my head and stand up. "We'll figure this out later, okay? We won't get anywhere with just one memory," Hikari nods again and I extend my hand out to her. "Come on, my mom should have breakfast for you by now." I grin when she takes my hand after all and lets me pull her to her feet.

"Will I get them all back?" She asks and I frown. "My memories, will I get them all back?"

"Of course," I grin at her. There's a slight tug at her lips for a moment, as if her memories are telling her to smile. Then it's gone. "I'll help you get your memories back. We all will; I promise."

She lowers her head, then closes her eyes. "Thank you." Even so, she still looks so lost again… Upset, even.

"Maybe…," I trail off in thought, then blink. "Wait. Maybe Riku can help. He's probably been more places than I have, maybe if we talk to him about your memory, he can help us!"

"Will he…?" She asks, seemingly unsure about him helping even though everything had already cleared up.

"Don't worry, he won't turn you away this time. We'll go see him later today." I grin.

Though I only now notice the look on her face then. It's like there's something nagging at the back of her mid. Was it something I said? "Hikari?"

"Worry?" I cock my head to the side in confusion. "What is worry?"

"What is it?" She nods. "Worry means… Well, it's when you care about how someone is, I guess. You want them to be okay, and when they're not, you worry about them." Hikari nods, but seems to be lost in thought. I sigh inwardly.

_It's probably going to be a long while at this rate,_ I think. I watch my mom greet Hikari and walk with her into the kitchen and I catch that familiar tug at her lips before it vanishes. I smile. _But, then again, it might not be that bad._

* * *

"You want me to find a world for you?"

Riku stares at us as if we'd each grown a second head. I grin sheepishly, Hikari beside me letting out a somewhat frustrated sigh.

"Okay, maybe I didn't word that quite right. Hikari remembered a bit of her home, and I was wondering if you knew anything about it," I say, scratching the back of my head absently. "Or had at least been there once or something."

Riku frowns in thought for a moment, then nods. "Alright, what've you got?" He turns to Hikari who seems to be attempting to stare into Riku's very soul, picking out his intentions and feelings. A little creepy, actually.

"Xanoon," He raises a brow at her. "It was called Xanoon."

Riku folds his arms and leans against the wall behind him. "Xanoon, huh? …sorry, I don't remember a world by that name," Hikari's eyes seem to darken, the hint of light in the brown/green slowly fading away. "Did you see what it looked like?" He asks quickly and she snaps out of it, if only for a moment.

"Green," There's a glazed over look in her eyes now, as if she's seeing it in her memory again somewhere else. "Grass. Blue skies." She says, a robotic tone in her voice. Riku raises a brow at her and turns to me, pausing for a few moments.

"…well _that _sure narrows it down." He says with a frown. I shrug helplessly.

"Hikari? Are you sure there isn't anything else you remember to narrow it down more?" I ask her. She stares off into space for a bit longer, then lets out a deep breath, shaking her head at me. I sigh but remain wary of her actions. She doesn't look so good…

"Anything else you remembered?" Riku asks as Hikari walks up beside me. She closes her eyes for a few moments.

"The boy I knew said… There were Rebels. Xanoon wasn't safe. He was going to join them." She says and our eyes widen.

"Rebels? Just what the hell was going on there?" I mutter under my breath. Now I wasn't so sure about just sending her home the moment we knew how. If it wasn't safe… Then something big must've happened for Hikari to be like this, worlds away.

"A boy, huh?" Riku has a teasing tone as he looks at me, a smirk on his face. I frown at him and glance at Hikari as he does. "You know his name? What about your own?"

She shakes her head. "I couldn't hear him. I don't know." As of that moment, she seems to regret moving her head as a hand reaches up to her forehead, rubbing a spot for a few seconds. She pulls the scarf closer around her neck.

"Well maybe when you remember something else and we can-" I pause when Hikari strays away from us and to the docks, in another world, almost. She's not listening anymore. "Hikari?"

No response. Riku raises a brow at her back in confusion and looks at me. "She's rather… Unnerving to be around. You know that, right?" He says and I sigh.

"What? No, she's…" I trail off, trying to find the right word. Riku eyes me expectantly.

"She's what?"

"She's… She's just different. That's all, okay?" I say and he frowns.

"You sure that's not just her amnesia showing?" He says teasingly and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever Riku. Leave me alone," I groan and pull my jacket a little tighter around my body. "I'm gonna go get some hot chocolates for us, alright?"

Riku shrugs. "Alright. Wait," I turn at his word in question. "What about her?" He points to Hikari. She hasn't moved an inch.

I shake my head. "She's not going anywhere. Just wait here with her till I get back, okay? Thanks Riku!"

I hear him sigh as I run in the direction of a coffee shop nearby. Those two have already made up, so there's no harm in leaving them alone for a little while again, right?

Although as I think this, a small spark flickers to life inside me. What is that? It shouldn't bother me that they're alone, besides, I like Kairi anyway!

My face heats up at the thought and I shake my head furiously as I run.

Just leave it be.

* * *

Riku walks onto the dock and slows to a stop when he's a few feet away from Hikari. She doesn't seem to have noticed him. He sighs.

"What do you see?" The girl doesn't move and for a moment he even begins to think she's gone deaf.

"What's over there?" There goes that thought. Riku blinks.

"The island? That's where you wound up in our world, didn't Sora already tell you?" Something in his words seems to stir her. She turns her head to the side, her hair obscuring her face from his view except for her nose. "We can't go there, either."

She looks downfallen for only a moment. The next moment, it's gone. "But…," She mutters and takes a shallow breath. "There's something… Waiting for me…" She takes a step forward, making Riku's eyes widen.

"Wait a second, Hikari. That water's too cold for you to be swimming in- step back. Come over here." He says sternly, following her lead and taking a bigger step toward her. She doesn't move for the moment.

Then takes another step forward. "Something is there, I have to know…" Another step. Riku's guard is up.

"Get your ass back here, Hikari! It's dangerous out there!" She doesn't listen. Another step forward. The toes of her boots are already off the edge. "What if something happens if you somehow manage to get to the island, then what? What do you think Sora will do?" She seems to flinch at the mention of Sora and she turns around. There was a hollow look in her eyes, as if she weren't really there, but then it's gone the next second.

She blinks repeatedly as if tired and something seems to tug at her lips again.

"Okay."

Then, a gust of wind blows past them both, Riku's silver hair obscuring his vision for a few seconds. Though letting him see just enough to know that the wind had tipped Hikari back, her already poor footing losing ground quickly. His eyes widen even more.

"Hey!" He rushes over and grabs her wrist the moment her boots touch the water and she's looking at him with semi-wide eyes. He takes a deep breath of relief. "You okay?"

After a moment she nods. She looks at the water below for a moment, lost in its rolling waves splashing against her boots.

"Thank you."

"Riku? Hikari?"

* * *

It'd been difficult to carry three hot chocolates with only two hands, but I'd managed. Besides, that was the last thing on my mind.

Priority one: Why Riku is holding Hikari up by her wrist above the water.

"What's going on?!" I ask frantically when I get no response from the two. Riku blinks and pulls Hikari over to the dock again and lets her down on her feet. She stumbles slightly.

"It's fine, Sora. She just tripped is all." He walks over and grabs the only hot chocolate without the whipped cream from my hands.

"Yeah, but-" Hikari walks up to me now. "Are you okay?" I ask. She nods.

"What is that?" She asks and I blink.

"Oh! Right, this is hot chocolate. I got you one just like mine, wanna try?" I hold up the hot chocolate in front of her. She eyes it warily for a moment, but takes it from me anyway.

"By 'just like yours', does that mean the actual drink has been drowned in whipped cream and marshmallows?" Riku calls to me, enjoying his own m=drink mostly in silence. I toss a glare his way.

"It's not drowned! It's just sweet, chocolately perfection!" I hold up my own drink proudly and narrow my eyes at his. "Unlike _yours." _I add. He laughs and raises his cup.

"Oh yeah! Gods forbid I actually don't want a sugar rush every time I want a simple drink," He takes a sip and smirks at me. "Unlike _you." _He mocks.

I stick out my tongue at him and return to my own drink with joy. Hikari ceases watching us with a hint of curiosity and stares at the whipped topping of her own drink.

"Go on, Hikari. It's good." I grin wide and push her drink a little closer to her face. She nods hesitantly, though mostly to herself, and presses the rim of the cup to her lips, although by now I can't see her mouth anymore due to the whipped cream.

She seems hesitant at first, but sees to banish any wavering thoughts and drinks it anyway. She flinches back and I raise a brow.

"Something wrong?" I ask. She pauses.

"H-Hot," I'm almost shocked that she stutters and pulls the cup away. There a line of whipped cream on her upper lip now and I chuckle at the sight. "But… Good." She looks up at me with wide eyes.

"Glad you like it! And uh, Hikari?" She blinks in question and I gesture to my own upper lip. "You got a little stuff here…" I trail off uncertainly. Girls always hate it when you point out stuff like to them, don't they?

Luckily, Hikari was no such girl. She turns to the side and wipes the cream off with her finger, staring at the white mass for a moment before licking it off. She attempts to lick off the rest of the whipped cream from her drink as if in search of something.

"Where are they?" She asks, looking up at me when she seems to have failed in her search.

"Where's what?" I frown. I feel Riku's eyes on me, but he doesn't speak.

"The lumps," When I don't respond, she continues on. "They were soft, yet… Not. Where did they go?" She asks again, almost sounding like a small child. Does amnesia really do this to people?

Suddenly I realize what she's asking me about. "Oh! You mean the marshmallows!"

"Marshmallows…," She tests the word on her own. "Yes. Where are they?" Again. I scratch my neck.

"Sorry to break it to you, Hikari; but hot chocolate tends to melt marshmallows pretty fast- sounds like they're already gone now." I point out to her. She seems disappointed for a moment, but instead nods in understanding.

"They're gone now…," Her breath turns shallow. I exchange a look with Riku behind me, who shrugs. "Gone…" Her voice is just a bit louder now as her eyes squeeze shut. /her hand holding the cup starts shaking.

"Hikari? Are you okay?" I ask worriedly, attempting to pry the cup out of her grip just in case. Her grip is too strong.

"Hot… Gone… Gone," Her voice is constantly escalating with each word, already having raised far above her normal level. "No… Gone…!" I gasp as the cup is suddenly crumpled up, hot chocolate overflowing wildly and burning both our hands. Riku cries out in surprise.

I resist pulling away at the sensation and grip her shoulder as her hands go to her head. "Hikari? Snap out of it! What's the matter?" She doesn't seem to hear me. She's crying out the words "gone" and "hot" as if the very action causes her pain.

"What the hell is going on?!" Riku comes up to our side. But he's the last thing on my mind.

Hikari suddenly screams as loud as her vocal chords allow her. She wrenches herself out of my grasp and attempts to go forward. "N… No! Can't… I can't…!"

"Hika…," I trail off, in shock of what's happening. Riku's actually speechless. She stumbles and doubles over in pain, falling to her knees. "Hikari!"

She visibly flinches when I touch her as I rush to her side. She's gritting her teeth now, seemingly making it difficult to talk. "…ra… Sora…," She breathes and my eyes widen even more.

"Hikari! What do you need, huh? Where does it hurt?" I ask urgently. I don't know why I'm asking questions she clearly can't answer; but it's better than just watching in stunned silence.

"Sora…!" Her eyes are watering. She opens them for just a second and looks at me. There's fear in her eyes. Absolute fear. "I… Gone… No, no!"

Suddenly there's a thump sound and she falls forward, almost hitting her head on the pavement had I not caught her in time. Riku is standing above us, breathless with the hilt of his Keyblade pointed toward us. My eyes widen.

"Riku, you…," I shake my head in disbelief. "Did you just knock her out?!"

He shrugs and kneels down opposite from me. "Well what do _you _do when some girl keeps screaming in pain? Let her suffer or end it for her?" He fires back. I bite my lip and lower my head.

"Sorry, Riku," I mutter. Hikari looks pale despite finally looking peaceful as well. "What just happened?"

"Maybe she remembered something else," At my surprised glance, he continues. "Something you said or did must've triggered something, is all. Maybe that's what happened."

A part of me didn't want her to remember any more if it meant going through that each time. Since she'd woken up after remembering something else, she looked sick the whole time. Maybe it just unsettled her, but still.

"Maybe…" I trail off, she was cold to the touch. I regret my previous thought. Her memory is exactly what we need to figure out just who she really is and how to get her back home, after all.

Riku stands after a moment. "The least we can do for now is bring her back to your place," He glanced at me once before walking away. "Waiting for her to wake isn't going to help your burns either."

That's right. I'd completely forgotten about the stinging sensation still lingering on my hand, and probably on Hikari's too. I nod and pick her up bridal style. That was first time I'd ever seen so much emotion on her face, and heard it in her voice. She's still so light…

"I just hope this memory's a good one."

* * *

"_-."_

_Hikari's body turns toward the voice speaking the lost word. The soft grass and blue sky are both gone- replaced by a dimly lit room, still carrying a warm and comforting feeling- and the black-haired boy is nowhere in sight either._

_Instead, there's a tall and built man standing on the other side of a table, farthest away from her. He has brown-green eyes just like hers, except his hair is a sandy brown, well kempt but still shooting out in various places. He looks like he's in his early twenties._

_There's a warmth in her chest at laying her eyes on the man, a warmth not unlike the one in her hands- what is it?_

"_What is it, -?" She hears herself ask. There's another missing word. The man lowers his eyes to a steaming cup resting on the table. No response. "Hello? You gonna speak up or what? Never seen you looking so serious before." She laughs and takes a sip of whatever's in her hands. It tastes familiar…_

"… _How's your hot cocoa?" He finally asks. His voice is deep, but soft._

"_Ugh! Miserable; my marshmallows already melted!" She complains. Is hot cocoa the same as hot chocolate? All Hikari can do is wonder- it's not like she can ask them, after all._

_The man chuckles and leans back against the wall. "I see."_

_Hikari feels the brow on her face shift upwards and suddenly she's setting her cup on the table. "Alright, what's on your mind?" He looks at her and she sighs. "What? You can't expect me not to notice something's wrong. You look like you just saw someone get run over by a chocobo."_

_Hikari ignores the fact she has no idea what a "chocobo" is and just listens intently to the conversation. It's difficult, however, as her head is pounding. Why does it hurt so much…? Is it from her in the waking world or does she feel pain in her memories too?_

_The man shifts uncomfortably and stands up straight again, taking a few steps toward her. "I'm going to join the Guard. I leave for training tomorrow morning."_

_There's a sharp gasp- from Hikari's own mouth- and a tightening in her chest. She feels her hands clenching into tight fists, the steaming hot chocolate long forgotten._

"_What?" She breathes. The man looks upset but extends his arm toward her. She feels herself quickly back away. "No- I… What the _hell _are you thinking, -?" It's difficult to tell if she's yelling or not, but the man lowers his arm and takes another step forward._

"_The general talked to me today and he said it'd be good to have another – in the Guard- that I had what they need. -, you know that someone has to protect the kingdom- plus, we're running out of money. I thought you'd be happy I was following in Dad's footsteps, at least." He says, a tone in his voice Hikari can't comprehend._

"_You know damn well I don't like it! All they 'need' you to be is another corpse on the battlefield. I don't care if you're following in Dad's footsteps! You and I both know better than anyone what happens to those who join the Guard," Suddenly her vision is obscured by something over her eyes, they run down her cheeks. Hikari remembered seeing something like it once before- tears. "Gone- you'll be gone just like everyone else!"_

"_-, please. It'll be okay. Nothing will happen to me, okay?" Hikari's sight of the man shifts the moment he starts speaking. She's looking at the hardwood floor now. "Look at me, -." A hand cups her chin and raises it upward. The man is standing directly in front of her now, smiling softly._

_He raises his hand from her chin to brush away the tears on her face. His hand comes away wet. "I'll be fine. You know I can hold my own."_

"_But -, what about the Rebels? And plenty of people don't even make it past training, a-and-" He shushes her and she cooperates. The only sounds are choked sobs._

_Then there's arms around her thin frame. It's only now Hikari realizes that she's looking through the eyes of a much younger version of herself- possibly around twelve or thirteen._

"_C'mere. It'll be okay, -. Nothing will happen to me," She's pressed against the man in a tight embrace. His shirt is wet with her tears. He chuckles. "Come on- aren't you gonna give your big brother a hug?"_

_Her arms wrap around him instantly. "Promise you'll come back," She breathes. "You have to come back." His arms tighten around her, if only for a moment._

"_I promise."_

* * *

**Hooray a look into the Hikari no one actually knows about at all! lol**

**I may have named this chapter "Hot chocolate", but I'm doing a one-word-title thing for this fic. And as we all know, hot chocolate and hot cocoa are 2 words, but I HAD TO. YOU UNDERSTAND MY PAIN, DO YOU NOT?**

**REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE. THANK YOU**

**So what do you guys think of Hikari now? How she's acting with Riku and Sora? Her slowly-returning memories? Lemme know if you like or dislike them! Who knows, maybe we can do something great, you and I.**

**Ah yes, that's my fix...anyway, thanks for reading, don't forget to review, and I'll see you next time.**


	5. Closer

**I really like how this one turned out. Junk, junk, and more junk that's fun to write the hell out of.**

**Hope you enjoy it**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Closer**

"…Sora?"

There's the creak of my door opening along with the familiar voice, shaking me from my dozed state. For the past few hours or so I haven't been able to get to sleep, which has usually never been an issue for me. But with what happened to Hikari still in my mind…

Speak of the devil.

"Hikari?" I catch the sight of her eyes gleaming in the dark hallway slightly from my lamp. I spring from my bed and swing my door open. She looks unsteady on her feet. "What're you doing up? I mean- are you okay? Do you need something? I-"

"Sora," I cease my questioning. She's staring at me, as if begging me to stop. I clear my throat nervously and her hand goes to her other arm. "C…Can I come in?"

I blink. "Uh… Sure," I step aside and she walks further into my room silently. "Is everything okay?" I wanted to ask more questions, to know everything that happened. If that was a memory trigger… There had to be a way to make them come along easier.

"I… What- no, I…" She seems to be having trouble speaking. Her hands are shaking. I frown.

I rest a hand on her shoulder and she actually flinches a little. "It's okay, Hikari. Why don't you sit down?" I could tell she still wasn't feeling well. I want her to rest, at least a little bit longer. But she'd never go for it, not with whatever it is that's on her mind.

She sits on the edge of my bed and I sit beside her. She takes a deep breath and looks at me. There's more to see in her eyes now; more emotions, more feelings. "Whenever you're ready."

"I… My memory. Before, when I…," For a moment it seems she's trying to remember what she's talking about. "I remembered more."

My eyes widen. "You did?" She nods. I'm excited to know what it was, but the expression on her face tells me to tone it down. "Is that what's bothering you?"

"There was someone new," She starts, and swallows almost silently. "I don't know his name either, but I think… He's my older brother."

"That's good then, we have a bit more to go on," I grin wide. "And you'll have someone waiting for you when you get back home." I add warmly. She lowers her eyes.

"I'm not sure… This memory wasn't recent; I was younger. And he… Seemed to be joining some kind of army for Xanoon. We had talked about our parents, and…"

"Your parents?" I barely notice I cut her off. "Sounds like you have a pretty big family in Xanoon then, huh? That's great!"

"No," My grin falters at that one word. "They're gone. It sounded like they'd died on duty, or something… If he joined that long ago, what if he's already gone like they are?" She asks, though this time it seems like she's _trying _to sound like her usual unresponsive, distant self. She's starting to feel more, that much is clear.

She's scared of that. She's scared of all of it.

"I'm sure he's just fine, Hikari. Look on the bright side- you got more of your memories back, and you just found out you have a brother! I'm sure he's safe and sound, and worried about you back in Xanoon, just like I'm sure that other guy you remembered is too." She lets out a breath when I lay a hand on her shoulder again.

For a moment she's silent, as if contemplating everything I said. She looks at me. "…You promise?"

I blink. There's something in her voice, like she's making sure those are the right words for her to use. I grin.

"I promise."

"I…," For a moment there's something on her cheek, but it disappears so fast I can't tell what it is. Instead she turns to me on the bed and loops her arms around me in a tight embrace, coming as quite a shock to me. "T-Thank you."

"H-Hikari?" No response. She's still shaking uncertainly. After a moment I return the gesture and I feel her relax a little. "You're welcome."

I'm not sure how long we stay like that, but Hikari lets go first. She stands from my bed. "Sorry for keeping you up," She mutters, already making a beeline for the door. "Goodnight." I catch a hint of a smile as she closes my door, leaving me to my own devices.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and fall backwards on my bed, the mattress letting out a strained whine under my movements.

It was strange seeing Hikari doing things that, well, actually required some emotion. A part of me felt that was rude and waved it off.

Stranger though… Every time I touch her or vice versa, I for some reason expect her to feel cold under my skin. Perhaps due to the lack of who she really is under all that mystery, but…

She's really warm.

* * *

"Sora?"

I look up from my breakfast to my mom, looking at me curiously. I blink.

"Yeah?" She shoots me a look when it's clear I still had food in my mouth. I quickly swallow and grin sheepishly. She clears her throat.

"Did Hikari wake up last night?" She asks and I frown.

"Uh… Yeah, she did. Why?" I leave out the conversation we had last night. I stand and walk over to her as she points at something in the other room.

While out cold, she slept on the couch this whole time. Although, not anymore.

Instead she sat on the bottom of the staircase, her knees brought close to her chest and leaning against the railing. She had a peaceful look on her face as she sleeps, stray strands of hair covering her face and one of her arms wrapped around her thin frame, the other hanging limply at her side.

"Geez," I chuckle and walk over to her. "When I thought she was going to rest some more, I didn't think it would be on the stairs." I poke the palm of her hand and her fingers twitch slightly, making to reach my hand before giving up as soon as it started.

A small groan escapes her lips and she shifts slightly, moving her head to the opposite side and therefore knocking her off the balance she'd somehow achieved. I caught her though before she fell too far and carefully moved her back over again. She didn't even stir.

"Honey," I blink at the tone in my mom's voice- is that warning? She's looking at me as though she's trying to look deeper. "A word."

She walked into the kitchen in silence. I glance at Hikari warily before taking a deep breath and standing up again. She's talking in her sleep but I don't catch any words clearly enough.

I knock on the wall once. "What's the matter, Mom?" I ask slowly. I didn't do anything wrong, did I?

"Sora, is um… Is there anything… Going on there?" She points to the other room where Hikari's sleeping and I raise a brow.

"'Going on'? Like what?" The point she's making is lost on me. Her eyes widen exasperatedly and I frown. "No seriously? What're you asking? I don't know what you're getting at!"

I groan when she goes into an awkward silence. But, after a few moments, she speaks again. This time with a smile on her face.

"Do you like this girl?" She asks, that familiar excited, motherly tone the only thing I can hear now aside from a pin dropping. My eyes widen considerably.

"… _What?!" _I hear my voice crack from my shock, but I ignore it for the moment. My mom just laughs. "It's not funny, Mom! It's not even true!" I cry out, my hands balling into frustrated fists.

"Then why are you getting so flustered? Sora, _please." _She just smirks. I can't help but pout.

"But Mom, you know I like Kairi!" A part of me is surprised I don't feel that familiar tightening in my chest at the thought of Kairi. "Plus I barely even know Hikari, heck- she barely even knows herself!" I whisper sharply, afraid of her hearing me. I have a feeling she wouldn't like to be reminded of her amnesia like that.

"You don't have to know someone well to fall for them, Honey." My mom says simply and refusing to let me protest any farther.

Please, there's no way I could like Hikari that way. We're friends and she's only been here a few weeks, having only remembered a small amount of things about herself.

"You mean the ones solely based on looks?" I ask and raise a brow in question. She frowns at me and lets out a heavy sigh.

"Honestly Sora, since when are you so uncreative? You're even starting to sound as negative as Riku now." I stick out my tongue in mock disgust and cross my arms.

"Oh, leave me be." I chuckle, pausing when there's a small cough in the other room. My mom shakes her head.

"Just great, I thought that was gone by now," She says disappointedly. "She just _had _to sleep on the stairs!" She flails her arms in the air for a moment and walks out of the room.

Hikari never seemed to dress warm enough whenever she went out with Riku, Kairi and I, so I guess it's only natural she'd get sick sooner or later. But I honestly forgot about that when she'd come to my room last night...

I lose myself in my thoughts as I walk out of the kitchen, joining my mom again and now the dazed Hikari as well. She still looked half asleep, after all. Only now she sat on the couch instead of the staircase, fortunately. My mom is no longer in the room though.

"Morning Hikari." I greet with a grin. She just looks my way and nods, muttering a "good morning" as well. She must still be feeling under the weather.

I sigh as I sit beside her on the couch. She watches me silently. "So why'd we find you on the stairs this morning?" I ask teasingly, leaning into the couch completely. She blinks.

"That's where I was?" She asks and I raise a brow at her.

"Come again?" She stays silent when doesn't really understand what I just said. I inwardly groan; I had no idea amnesia could be so frustrating. "I mean how could you not know where you were? You fell asleep there, it didn't exactly look like you fell over or anything." I say, hoping I was making more sense.

"...I don't know. I thought... I don't remember falling asleep." Hikari's arms are crossed, her hands grasping the other's arm almost tightly. Her shoulders were shaking a little.

I pause for a moment and reach behind her, ignoring the sudden spark I feel when my hand grazes her own as I pull a blanket off the couch. She watches me with some curiosity and I drape the blanket over her shoulders. She looks at me confusedly and I shrug.

"You're supposed to warm up when you're cold, Hikari," I say with a grin. "Even more so when you're sick." I add teasingly. She runs a hand through her hair and lowers her eyes. A gesture I've never seen from her before.

"I see... Sora?" Her looking at me in question almost caught me off guard. Where'd my mom go, exactly? I glance at her and cock my head to the side curiously. "Have you been... Sick, before?"

I grin and lean back. "Of course. Everyone's been sick at least once, right? Even animals get sick from time to time too," Her eyes widen in surprise and I'm taken aback. "Hikari, you seem... Different. Have you remembered more than just people and places?" I ask. She pauses a moment.

"I... I'm remembering feelings. I think. I-I'm not sure what they're called, but I think I'm getting them back," She sighs lightly, as if just talking about it is exhausting her. "And words. My... My brother used words I don't know. And then there's the ones I can't hear... I think... I-I think they're names. Maybe. The boy used them too." She sounds frustrated for a moment.

I think she'll continue for the longest time, but nothing. All she does is pull the blanket tighter around her body. I open my mouth to say something- to comfort her if I can- but my mom suddenly picks that moment to come back in the room.

"Alright Hikari, this should help to get you better in no time!" She smiles as she opens a small bottle of cough syrup with a spoon in her other hand. I immediately cringe. She shoots me a warning look.

"What is it?" Hikari asks, sounding hesitant as she watches my mom pour some syrup in the spoon. She must've seen my reaction.

"It's medicine. Don't worry- it's not bad," My mom says and sits on the table in front of Hikari. She stares at the spoon fearfully, probably because the syrup is practically blood red. "Medicine helps sickness go away."

She suddenly shoves the spoon in her hand, somehow not spilling the syrup, and stands up again as her phone starts beeping in her pocket. She pulls it out and looks at the screen- a text? She then sighs and walks away and shrugs on a coat she had hanging by the door.

"Where are you going, Mom?" I ask and she shoots me an apologetic smile.

"I just got called in for work. Apparently there's an emergency call going out to everyone due to being attacked by some weird creatures... Sounds like wildlife gone mad to me," My eyes widen at her words. "Anyway, I'll probably be late tonight, so do what you want for dinner. Stay inside today, alright? Bye!"

She's out the door before I can even speak. Attacked by weird creatures? What if they're...

"Sora...?" Hikari's hand on my arm tears me from my thoughts and I whirl around to face her. I close my eyes for a moment and swallow.

"Yeah? What is it, Hikari?" I ask, putting on a mask of a smile. There's no way it's the Heartless. Or the Nobodies. It can't be.

"Are you okay? You...," She swallows, the spoon in her hand shaking ever so slightly. "You look sick too." She says. I blink.

"What? N-No Hikari, I'm fine, really," I let out a breath when she keeps staring at me. "Uh... Drink your medicine, alright? It'll help you."

She pauses and looks at the spoon warily. I almost laugh at her expression. She's about to drink it when there's a frantic, loud knocking at the door that startles the both of us.

I glance at Hikari and stand up, fighting the urge to summon my Keyblade as I walk over and open the door.

It's Riku.

"Riku? What're you doing here?" I ask with a frown. My eyes widen when I notice his own Keyblade in his hand. Out of the corner of my eye Hikari stands up and joins me at the door, looking at the weapon with newfound surprise.

"Have you heard about the attacks?" I nod slowly. "It's the Heartless, Sora. I've already taken some out on the way here." I'm overcome with dread and fear at his words.

"What about Kairi?" I ask first.

"She's fine. I already checked. I made her stay home," He says, a sudden protective glow in his eyes. "Sora, come on. We have to go."

I pause to glance at Hikari. She looks so lost and confused right now... And even afraid when there's the sudden flash of light of my Keyblade appearing in my hand. She backs away a little in shock, the blanket falling off her shoulders. Riku looks at her through the doorway, but says nothing.

"Hikari, I want you to stay here, okay? I'm going with Riku. I'll be back as soon as I can." I say. Her eyes dim and part of me fears she'll black out again. But she doesn't.

"Sora...," Her voice is shaky. "W-What's going on?" She asks. For the moment I ignore the fact that she's acting like a normal human being- full of feeling.

I glance at Riku. He looks impatient but nods. "A fight," I notice she flinches. "It'll be okay. Just lock the doors. You'll be safe, we'll make sure of it! Don't worry!" I grin wide, steadily feeling my familiar battling spirit returning. It feel s great, but I almost feel guilty for thinking so.

Hikari bites her lip. I take that moment to pick up the discarded blanket in our silence and I smile at her. "It's okay, Hikari." I say simply. Then, though...

Then she does the unexpected. Again.

She suddenly throws herself forward, pulling me into a tight embrace that has me stumble backward. For a moment I remember last night, but I quickly banish the thought.

"J-Just come back," Her voice cracks and my eyes widen in surprise. "P... Promise. You h-have to promise... Okay?" I hear even Riku gasp behind me. I glance down at her when I feel my shirt warming with some sort of wetness. Is that... Is that tears?

_This must be like something she remembered. _I think. It's the only thing that makes sense. I wriggle one arm free and loop it across her shoulders. She flinches, but that's it.

"I promise," I pull back. She seems reluctant at first, but does the same. I drape the blanket over her body again and she immediately pulls it around herself. "We'll be back, I swear. In the mean time, you stay here and get better, alright? Lock the door as soon as we're gone."

Hikari nods, her dark eyes still shining with sudden tears she can't control. I grin, and out the door we go.

_I'll be back soon, Hikari, _I think, a determined spark igniting inside me._ It's a promise._

* * *

I finish off another Shadow Heartless, the Keyblade gleaming brightly in the moonlight. Who knows how long Riku and I have been at it- minutes, hours maybe- and despite their numbers being dwindled to almost nothing, it was getting more and more exhausting as we went.

"Just how many more are gonna come?" I call out, not really expecting an answer from Riku at all. Bigger Heartless were coming along. we had to finish this quick.

"Just keep going! They have to run out of reinforcements sooner or later!" Riku yells back, slicing his Way to Dawn through a Knight Heartless with ease.

"Got it!" A Large Body suddenly appears in between us, ready to attack. I back flip away from it just as it jumps in the air, the impact knocking Riku off his feet.

We have to finish this. What if the Heartless got to the hospital where my mom is? Or Kairi? Or Hikari?

I can't let anything happen to them. I won't.

"Get outta my way!" I growl and point my Keyblade at the Large Body's back while it's distracted. "Fira!"

_Please _let this be over soon.

* * *

_"Attention all troops!" Hikari feels her body shift sharply, and hears similar sounds all around her. Her body feels heavy with the different clothes strapped on herself. A mirror in the back catches her eye and she's able to take in her new appearance._

_She's wearing loose khaki shorts, a thick black belt slacking on one side with a gun in its holster. White knee-highs and black combat boots. A black v-neck with small shoulder guards. A long sleeve white shirt underneath rolled up to her elbows and wearing black fingerless gloves. There's also a small pack strapped around her right thigh._

_"Tonight we will crossing into enemy territory. This is a stealth mission, so remember: the shadows are your best friend here," A broad-shouldered woman talks. Her black hair is tied back in a wild ponytail, her bangs covering an eye with an eye patch of sorts over it and a scar running down from it to her chin. The only visible eye is an electric blue. She's wearing camo-colored pants stuffed into her combat boots, her tight black jersey-cuffed shirt tucked into her pants. Armor plating on both of her forearms. Seems like the leader of the Rebels- or at least this team. "Get as many supplies as you can- weapons, armor, food, medicine- literally _anything _you can carry."_

_"Sir," Someone speaks up in question. The black-haired boy with the green eyes from Hikari's first memory. "What if we encounter anyone in the Guard?" The woman turns to him but doesn't leave her spot in front of us._

_"Well -," One of the words she can't hear- his name, probably. She smirks. "I'd imagine you wouldn't have to ask that question," Something seems to flash in his eyes, but it's gone. "You take them out; silently but efficiently. Hide the bodies- bury them if you have to. No one discovers our presence."_

_She crosses her arms and turns to face us all again. "We move in now! Understood?" She asks- though the tone in her voice suggests it wasn't such._

_"Yes, sir!" Everyone- including Hikari herself- shouts. The woman doesn't look satisfied._

_"I believe I had some uncertainty there. No one comes back without supplies! If you can't handle it, then back out now!" An image flashes through Hikari's mind- well, the version of her she's watching this from. An image of her brother._

_She draws in a sharp breath. The woman catches it and walks up to her. The now known feeling of fear washes over her, but she seems to be fighting it back._

_"Well soldier? You don't look so hot," The woman peers down at her- she's much taller than Hikari. There's not an ounce f care in her voice. The black-haired boy looks at her with an expression she can't place as the woman leans down until they're face to face. Hikari doesn't move. "You're either in, or you're out."_

_Millions of thoughts are going through her head- if her brother will be on patrol tonight, if he finds out she's with the Rebels, if she has no choice but to kill him... Or vice versa. She swallows._

_"I'm in." She hears herself say, feeling a spark ignite inside her body as she stared at the woman. The woman glares._

_"What's that now?" She mutters in question._

_"I'm in, sir."_

_"Good," She backs away and stands front and center. She punches her chest and raises her fist in the air. "For the future of Xanoon!"_

_Everyone else mirrors her movements. The words echoed tenfold. "FOR THE FUTURE OF XANOON!"_

_The woman walks away as everyone splits into teams of three, walking out the back door. The black-haired boy runs up to Hikari just as she exits as well. There's a large castle in the distance._

_"You wanna team up tonight, -?" The boy asks, a smile on his face. He's walking backwards in front of her. She doesn't respond. "-?"_

_"Huh?" Her vision shifts from the stone ground to the green eyes of the boy, shining with an emotion she doesn't understand. She nods. "Sure -, sounds good. Let's go."_

_She walks ahead of him, only to be stopped by a hand grasping her own. She doesn't look back._

_"-, come on. Talk to me." Hikari feels herself gathering up more and more of another feeling she doesn't know. It doesn't feel good. But she does feel it every time she wants to know what the words she can't hear are. She wants to know his name, her brother's name, her _own _name._

_The version she's watching the memory from sighs. "What if we run into -? If he sees me, then... Then I don't know what he'll do. Hell, I don't know what _I'll _do." She hears herself growl under her breath._

_The boy comes up beside her, his hand never leaving hers as he turns her to face him. An uneasy feeling settles in her stomach at his actions._

_"-, it'll be okay. We won't see him and he won't find out," He takes a step closer to her. The feeling increases and she looks into his eyes. "What can I do to calm you down? Hm?" He asks, he smiles, like he knows what she'll say to him._

_Hikari feels the corners of her lips tugging into a smile. She rests a hand on his shoulder. "You know." She mutters._

_She takes a step closer and he presses his lips against hers. The uneasy feeling bursts into a warmth throughout her entire body at the action. What is this feeling? What is she doing to this boy?_

_Hikari remembered when Sora's mother had her watch a "movie" where people did this, but she never explained what it was. It didn't seem like she could without getting shaken up somehow. Hikari wondered for a moment if she should ask Kairi about it._

_A few more moments pass before they pull away. The boy squeezes her hand. "You ready? Even if we do run into some of the Guard, I know you'll be able to take 'em out." He chuckles as they walk._

_Hikari's body starts walking a little faster. "Of course. I'll always be a better fighter than you anyway," She laughs and takes off into a run toward the castle. "Come on, -! The patrols are about to change!"_

_"Hey! Wait up!" The boy calls behind her. They take routes through the alleys. Maybe they're getting lost, but it doesn't seem like it._

_And it didn't seem like they cared either._

* * *

Hikari leans back against the wall clumsily to keep herself from falling over. That memory... It's different. Not so calm, not in the same place. So much moving and happening.

"He... No, Sora..." She looks around. Sora wasn't back yet. Neither was his mother. It was completely dark outside.

And she's alone. Alone to dwell on her memories.

"I can... Fight?" She looks at her open palm, shaking the blur out of her vision.

Then there's a tap on the window. She jerks her head at the sound as it turns into scratches. The sound hurts her ears. Scratches turn to banging, banging turns to breaking, and several dark creatures jump through the broken window.

Hikari gasps and takes a step back, her eyes widening in fear. The creatures are about level with her knees, not counting the bug-like antennae twitching about. They had bright yellow eyes that seemed to stare into her very soul. Or rather... Her heart.

"Heart... The Heartless?" She breathes. The creatures come closer to her, growling loudly and rearing back. these must be the Heartless Sora and Riku were talking about.

She actually screams when they all jump at her at once. She jumps out of the way just as they hit the ground, some hitting the wall and scratching into the paint.

"Fight, fight... Uh..." She grabs the nearest thing she can reach- a heavy metallic lamp resting the table with a glass shade. Something flashes in her vision for a moment- a fighting stance she takes in her Rebel uniform- and she copies the image as the Heartless crowd around her.

She closes her eyes. "Remember... Remember." She pleads to herself. She feels her mind slow to a stop, something else taking its place. All she could do now was watch, yet still feel herself controlling her own body, as this thing told her what to do.

_Swing to the right._

She did. One Heartless down. Another jumps forward.

_Jump and stab down._

She did. The sharp tip of the umbrella pierces the Heartless' skull. It vanishes.

_Turn and dodge back. Slice forward._

Two Heartless were behind her, she found. She does as told. They're gone. Only one left.

_Now give it all you've got!_

Suddenly the presence is gone, Hikari's mind is her own once more. There's a sound behind her, but she doesn't look as she instead runs forward to the last Heartless, pushing herself in the air from her toes just as it jumps forward as well, and thrusts what's left of the umbrella through the small body.

The umbrella's in pieces, but the Heartless is gone. Hikari lands on her feet in a crouch, breathing heavily.

"Hikari?"

A sharp intake of breath escapes her lips as she quickly but carefully jumps to her feet. The sound she heard had been the door.

Standing in that doorway was Sora. Bruised and scratched, but okay. His eyes are wide with surprise, his key-shaped blade in his hand.

"Sora," She breathes and takes a step forward. "You're okay..." There's a tug at her lips, but it vanishes. His expression doesn't change.

"Y-Yeah, uh...," She can barely hear his voice. He walks through the door and looks around the room. "You can fight?"

The question that'd been going through Hikari's head is finally voiced. After a moment she nods.

"I... yes. I suppose so." She says.

He raises a brow at her. His arm was around his stomach as though he'd been injured there.

"What are you, magic?!"

* * *

**lol Oh Sora, you need to calm down.**

**I said it once and i'll say it again- this chapter was fun as HELL to write. The stuff at the beginning was meh, ok, but the stuff right after? FUCK YEAH**

**Anyway REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**I'd really like it if this fic got more attention. If there's any way you could help out with that I'd really appreciate it dudes. Thanks!**

**See you next time**


	6. Loss

**So it's been a while since my last update, hasn't it?**

**Anime Vegas was last weekend, so that's my only lame excuse, but I hope this chapter makes up for it**

**enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Loss**

"Ouch." I hiss to myself for probably the tenth time since I started patching myself up. Hikari sat across from me on the couch, watching me with a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

These past few days have shown…quite the change in her. One minute she's hugging me, the next she's pounding Heartless into the ground an umbrella. Her eyes don't look so empty anymore, something's filling them back up again, bringing her back.

"I…," I hear her start softly and I pause, looking up at her in question. She swallows and looks at my hands. "I can help… If you'd like."

I blink. "You know how to do this stuff?" Inwardly I was relieved, I had no clue how to do any of this. And healing magic has all but failed. I must've been out of energy.

Hikari nods and scoots over on the table until she's right in front of me. She grabs the bandages and disinfectant lying beside her and starts to work her magic.

"I think… I think I was able to do this back in Xanoon," She started, seeming a little shaken by something. Did it disturb her? Remembering… Or maybe it's the blood. "I didn't see it in a memory, but… But I felt it."

"'Felt it'?" She nods and I lower my eyes. "I see… Well it's great that you're remembering more stuff now- just one step closer to getting you back home again!" I said with a grin and a part of my noticed her hold on the bandage around my arm slacken slightly, the other part feeling somewhat… Off.

Why did that part of me seem to not want her to leave? I've only known what she knows about herself for a few weeks. All we want is for her to get home, I have no ground to keep her here.

Then, my mom's words from this morning echo in my head.

"_You don't have to know someone well to fall for them, Honey."_

I inwardly sigh, then notice that Hikari still hadn't budged from her loose grip on the bandage and I glance at her. Her eyes look… Sad, somehow.

"Hikari?" I tap her hand and she flinches out of her thoughts, back to me again as she looks at me in question. The light's back in her eyes now. "Are you okay?"

She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. She looks like she's trying to find the right words to say, and is failing. "I-" She swallows. "I'm okay. Sorry." Her voice loses all emotion in those words and she returns to her task. I blink.

"Well… Okay, if you say so." I had a feeling she wasn't "okay" after all.

But who was I to pry?

* * *

The clock read 11:38. My mom still wasn't home.

"She's really late, isn't she?" Hikari's voice breaks me from my thoughts. I turn to look at her, and she actually looks worried. If she even knows what worry is yet, anyway.

"Yeah," I sigh, then smile. "But she's okay. The Heartless were taken care of, so there won't be any more trouble for a while."

There's no response. I look at her again. Nothing. She looks like she's thinking about something.

"What are Heartless?" There it is.

"Oh! Right! I forgot you don't know about them yet," I say with a light chuckle. "Heartless are… Well, they're what happens to us when we die. Our heart goes away, but what's left becomes a Heartless. They're monsters that attack peoples' hearts. I guess… I guess it's like food for them."

I wondered for a moment if we'd run into any Nobodies, but then I immediately banished that thought away. No. Organization XIII was gone. Everyone. We're at least safe from them.

"I see…," Hikari mutters, playing with her hands almost absently. "Heartless are… Bad." I nod.

"Right! They're what you saw before," _When I saw you fighting, _I think, then blink. "By the way, how'd you fight like that anyway? Here you are with amnesia and you're fighting like you're a pro!" I make a punching motion but flinch back with a yelp when it reopens the cut on my arm. Hikari almost giggles, I think.

But then back to seriousness. "I'm not sure. I want to say it was a memory, but…," She pauses for a moment and lowers her head, her dark hair falling in her face. "It doesn't seem about right to call it that."

I scratch my head in thought. "Your life's pretty complicated, you know." I say and this time her lips tug upward in a slight smile, as if she's not sure that's the right gesture for her to use, but when I smile back, her own widens ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry. It must be a huge burden on you and your mother," Her voice lowers to just barely a whisper. "Amnesia isn't easy, yes, but with me? A complete stranger to everyone here? Seems… Worse." She says.

I frown. "Hikari, you're not a burden. We don't care that you're not from here, either. We just want to help, that's what we do," I turn to grin at her. Her eyes are wide. "Besides, we're friends, aren't we?"

"Friends," She whispers to herself, seemingly already remembering that we'd gone over the "friends" thing before. She smiles. "Yes, friends… I… Thank you. Thank you, Sora."

I swing an arm around her shoulders and pull her close with a laugh. "Not a problem!" I quickly stand up, ignoring the quick twinge of my wounds acting up. "I'll go make us some hot chocolate, okay? You want yours like before?" I ask and she pauses in thought, thinking about something and shaking her head of it.

"Yes." She nods and I grin, already walking into the kitchen.

"Great! Finally someone else who likes it like I do. Now I won't have to get as much crap from Riku anymore." I chuckle, heating up some water and getting little hot cocoa packets and everything else I needed.

I get no response from Hikari, but I figure she just can't hear me from over there.

After a few minutes, our drinks are finally ready. I grab both mugs by their handles and walk back into the living room. "Alright, two hot chocolates, right here! One for me, and one for-"

I stop short when I notice still no response from her- and I know why now.

She's asleep.

I can't help but smile at the sight of her eyes closed softly, her mouth slightly parted open and her small body curled up on one side. I sit beside her on the couch and pull a blanket around us. After all, there was only one blanket in the room, and I was cold too.

I sip my hot chocolate, Hikari's own sitting in front of her on the table. Her mouth is moving slightly in her sleep, small noises and words escaping her mouth.

_Memory, or just a dream? _I think. I partially hope it's the latter. These memories seem to be taking a toll on Hikari, after all. It's worrying.

Is this how it always is with amnesia?

* * *

"…ra."

"Sora… Home…"

I groan slightly at the voice echoing not far off and the shaking sensation I was getting.

"Sora? Honey?" The voice says again. "I'm home." They say sweetly. I open my eyes tiredly, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.

"Mom…?" I rub my eyes. There she is. Right in front of me, she's smiling too. Even though I knew there was a blanket over me, I felt warmer than I should've just from that. I wonder why. "You're home now?" I ask, now more awake.

She smiles at me. "Yup. They let me go back after all the patients we had were stabilized." She says, occasionally looking off to the side. I realized then that there was a heavy weight on my right side, all the way up to my shoulder. It restricts my movements when I go to stretch and I finally look over.

"U-Um…" Hikari's leaning against me in a deep sleep, letting out light sounds as she dreams. _Or remembers. _I think again.

I hear my mom laugh lightly. "I found you two curled up like that when I got home. I was going to just let you sleep," She pauses to look at me. "But I figured you'd want to know when I got back."" She says. Her jacket and shoes are already by the door. She probably got home at least a few minutes ago.

"Well there was only one blanket in here, so I-" The look in her eyes tells me to stop and I do, ending with a sigh. "Well it's true." I grumble, crossing my arms underneath the blanket.

My mom laughs again. "You're fine, Sora. I'm not here to judge," She leans forward and kisses my forehead lightly. I shake my head as she backs up and I'm glad that Hikari's asleep. "Goodnight, honey." She grins tiredly and walks off to her room, closing the door behind her.

I sit in silence for a few moments and then sigh. "Gimme a break already…"

I carefully shift my arm so as not to wake Hikari until I'm able to fold them behind my head. She falls slightly until she's sleeping on my chest. She doesn't even stir. I want to move over, but I can't really without her falling off the couch. I sigh lightly, ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks.

There's no harm in it, right? Not like I actually like her or anything. I mean… _Like _like her. The only person I've felt that way about is…

Kairi, right? A part of me wondered how she'd react to seeing me like this with Hikari. Would she be indifferent? Or would she get upset?

I banish that thought immediately. There's no way. Kairi doesn't feel that way about me, not at all. Except…

Except the way she acted when I finally found her again in the World That Never Was. At the time I think… I might've had a feeling she did, after all. But now, with all the danger gone, everything's back to normal. It's almost like nothing ever changed.

Aside from the Heartless showing up again.

What could've happened to bring them back here? Donald, Goofy and I put a stop to everything back there, we were sure of it. It's almost like everything just decided to change to moment Hikari came here.

She couldn't… Have anything to do with it, could she?

No. It can't be. From the things she's remembered so far, she just isn't that kind of person. She had been working to make her home a free one. At least… That how it seems, from what she can tell. Are the rebels she joined really good people? Do they have some ulterior motive that she doesn't know yet?

And did this all really change with Hikari's arrival? Or could it go even deeper? Maybe that dream I had a while back… I can barely remember it, now that I think about it. I think… I was fighting someone, I don't know who it was though, and then there was a girl's voice. Her voice…

It sounds a little like Hikari's.

I shake my head free of the thought. It's been so long since that dream, there's no way I can even remember it so clearly. It's just because I met her on the same day, that's all.

"So…" I'm shaken by Hikari's voice and I glance down as she starts to shift over off my chest, propping herself up on shaky hands. Her eyes crack open almost unwillingly and rubs them with one hand, her other weakly falling under the shift and she falls back down, had I not caught her carefully.

"Hikari? Whoa," I chuckle, though a little startled by her behavior. She lets out a shaky breath and finally rubs her eyes free of the tired need to close again. She doesn't bother lifting herself up again though. "You alright?" I ask.

She looks at me in question. Her eyes have a haze about them, as if she's not really aware of what's going on. Though, when she blinks a few times, it clears up a little.

"You…," She starts, then she lifts herself up finally. Her hands aren't as shaky anymore either. "I'm okay. What… What happened?" She asks, sitting up now and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes again, the blanket having already fallen off her shoulders.

I blink, taking her actions in for a moment. "You fell asleep a while ago, that's all. Um…," I pause for a moment, wondering whether or not I should ask after all, I shake my doubts away. "Are you sure you're okay? You looked a little… Out of it. Was it something you dreamed about?" I ask. She cocks her head to the side, her hair sliding over her shoulders.

"Dream…?" I mentally slapped myself. Right. She knows a different kind of "dream".

"It's uh… Different. The other kind of dream is what we see in our sleep." I say. She pauses for a moment in thought.

"Are those… My memories, too?" She asks hesitantly, as if afraid if what she dreamt about was true. Just what did she see?

"Sort of. A dream is fake. Like… Nothing ever makes sense in a dream. Normal things could be floating or something, stuff that wouldn't normally happen does- kinda like that." I say, hoping I make some sense to her.

"Oh…" She breathes. I cock my head to the side, leaning forward to get a better look at her face. She seems to be in deep thought.

"So… Was it a dream? Or a memory?" I ask. She bites her lip.

"I think… A dream." She mutters, though there's a flicker of something else in her voice, perhaps hoping it was a dream and not reality? An involuntary shudder racks her thin body and I frown.

I want to ask what it was about, but I decide against it. Something flashes in her eyes when I open my mouth to speak, but it's gone as soon as I close it again. Instead I sigh, and stand up from the couch, Hikari half watching me, and half staring off into space.

"You still want that hot chocolate?" I ask and she just blinks. "I mean, you fell asleep before you could have the first one, and I'm just gonna guess it's a bit cold by now." I point to the cup still sitting on the table in front of her and she lets out a small sigh at the sight. I can't help but chuckle lightly.

I reach a hand out to her and she almost seems to flinch at the sudden movement. She looks up at me and I smile. "Come on, there's no going back to sleep now; I know that much."

She pauses, then actually smiles back- a somewhat forced one, I might add- and she grabs my hand, just as I move to pull her up with an okay from her.

I'm starting to wonder if remembering her past is truly a good thing or not- it's hurting her, isn't it? It shouldn't do that, it's not fair. Maybe…

Maybe she doesn't have to remember.

Maybe, together, we can change her into a whole new person. Not the orphan girl who lost most of her family to a war and joined the fight, but the newest resident of Destiny Islands looking for a new life.

Would it be good for her? Better than remembering a troubled past that made me sick to my stomach at the constant battles in her home world? Or would it hurt her even more somehow? To become someone completely different from the person you still don't fully remember- not even their name…

It's not my place to say, but maybe she'd at least hear me out. But not right now. The way she is right now… She might get mad at me.

If she knows how to get angry yet, anyway.

"Sora?"

Her voice breaks my thought process and I blink. "Huh? What is it?" I ask. How long have we been in the kitchen?

"I think… That's enough whipped cream." She says and I frown, looking down to find a familiar can of cream in my hand…

And a mess that was once a hot chocolate on the table, the cream having towered high and fell down in clumps.

"Ah!" I yelp and I accidentally drop the can on the floor, already scrambling to gather the whipped mess on the table. "Shit! I-I uh- Wait! Whipped cream- no!" I cry out as the tower of cream falls from the mug and all over the table and the floor.

I barely register a growing sound of laughter in front of me. "Hikari! Quit laughing at me and just help me out here! I-" I pause. She's laughing. _Laughing. _And hard, too. She wraps her arms around her stomach as she continues to laugh more than I'd ever seen from anybody, tears are even threatening to fall due to still not stopping. I take that moment to grin.

"Alright, I see how it is," She pauses just a little to look at me in question. She's covering her mouth as she continues to laugh at me. "If you wanna laugh, might as well give me a reason to laugh too!" I take a big glop of whipped cream and throw it at her face like I would a baseball.

It hits home. Silencing her, if only for a few moments.

Small clumps of cream drip down her chin to the floor, some landing on her chest. Her eyes are wide with surprise. I'm already cracking up.

"Hi-Hikari! I-" I can barely talk now as I'm overcome with laughter almost as much as she was before.

"Okay," She says, walking over to me. The slight glow in her eyes shows she understands. She takes a handful of cream and rubs it all over my face, only making me crack up even more, though still in shock that she even did it. "So like this, then?"

She's just doing as I do, I know that. But I can't help but feel like this is _her _too. She's even laughing alongside me still. To hear her laugh like this... I actually never thought of her gaining back her humanity, just her memories. But now that we're outside of that, I don't know…

I kind of want to stay right here.

I ignore every deep thought, every doubt and every worry and ache for this time. And I take that time to toss as much whipped cream at Hikari as I can to win this little game.

"Comin' at ya!" I give little warning, since I threw it just as I start to speak. All of her efforts to dodge were in vain.

She just laughs and throws more my way, I grin wide and duck behind the table just in time. I jump back up and throw another, but this time, Hikari sidesteps out of the way just time. Except...

She slips and falls to the ground.

"Whoa!" I start, still chuckling just a bit as I hurry over to her. Her face is all red and her back is probably covered in whipped cream by now. "You alright, Hikari?" I ask.

She blinks at me and nods. "Y-Yes... Didn't see where I was going." She says as she sits up, her laughter having nearly subsided now. I grin down at her.

"Yeah, I see that," I laugh again as she shakes her head randomly, maybe to rid herself of dizziness or something. "Come on, we should probably clean this stuff up now. I don't know about you, but I don't want a scolding from my mom about whipped cream, of all things." I say and extend a hand out to her. She nods again and takes my hand and lets me pull her up to her feet again.

Though, I feel a spark of something traveling up my arm at her touch and I have to jerk back as soon as she's upright. She glances at my confused expression, but that's all. What was that...?

"You're right."

* * *

"_Hurry it up, -, we've already wasted enough time in here as it is." A girl hisses to the familiar black-haired boy. She's wearing clothes similar to the ones Hikari had seen herself wearing in her last flashback. The boy is still wearing the same clothes as well... Is this from the same night?_

"_Alright, alright. Chill out for a sec, will ya? I'm just getting as much supplies as I can carry. Hey -," He pauses to look toward wherever Hikari's past self must be standing. She still can't hear that word. "How we looking out there?"_

_Suddenly her vision shifts to a wide, classy-looking hallway. She looks down one end, and then the other. Each side is vacant. Though that doesn't seem to soothe the tightening in her chest._

"_We're clear." She says. The other girl standing beside the black-haired boy crosses her arms impatiently. Her long hair nearly covers her right eye, so dark in this lighting it almost looks as black as night, but she had a feeling it wasn't so. Her grey eyes feel like they can shoot daggers anyone she pleases. She wears a black long sleeve shirt with shoulder guards, a belt holding up a pair of dark cargo pants with knee guards and khaki combat boots._

_She looks like she's trying to shoot those daggers at Hikari now._

_Hikari feels her eyebrow raise and the girl starts to walk toward her, the black-haired boy completely oblivious as he throws more things into his backpack._

"_Can I _help _you?" Hikari hears herself sneer at the girl as she leans against the wall across from her._

"_You seem awfully distracted tonight, -," The girl says, glancing at the boy and back to her, towards the hallway. "Something on your mind? Or are you just that bad of a Rebel?"_

_Hikari's eyes widen and she steps back, taking a moment to regain her composure. "I don't have to answer to you." She says and lowers her head, her hair falling in her eyes._

_The girl opens her mouth to speak again, but is cut off when the black-haired returns to their side, grinning wide._

"_Alright, let's head out. Is the coast still clear?" He asks Hikari's past self. Just as she turns her head toward the hallway, the other girl peers over first and steps outside the doorway._

"_We're good. Let's get back to HQ before the next patrol comes around. We got...," She pauses to check a small watch on her wrist. Her eyes widen. "Shit, only a minute. Let's move!" She whispers sharply to the two and the boy jumps out next._

"_Gotcha," He makes to run after the girl, but pauses to grab Hikari's hand as she walks out as well. "C'mon, we're almost home free, -."_

_Hikari feels herself smile and squeezes his hand. "Right."_

"_Hurry up! Move it!" The girl hisses and they both nod, already running up to her. She's stopped by the last doorway leading to a courtyard of sorts. She glances outside just as two guards pass. One of them darts their head over and Hikari can see their eyes widen in surprise at seeing them there._

"_Intruders! Alert the rest of the Guard! High level securi-" He doesn't get to finish that sentence as the black-haired boy jumps forward and knocks him out with a swing of the butt of his gun. Hard. The guard is out like a light._

"_Take him out!" The girl yells to them as the other guard gets into a stance with his sword and shield._

"_Already on it." Hikari hears herself mutter, jumping forward and taking her gun out of its holster. The guard pauses and the grip he has on his sword slackens a little bit. Hikari raises a brow at him in confusion but her black-haired friend doesn't seem to notice._

"_Man, talk about old-fashioned! A sword and shield, _and _chivalrous? You can't write this stuff!" He laughs and pulls out a small dagger, slowly making his way around the guard. But the guard's eyes weren't on him._

_They were on Hikari._

"_Well?" She hears herself start in a taunting manner. "You gonna attack or stand there gaping?" But it was useless. Either this guy was scared, or... There was something else at play here._

"_-..." He mutters and Hikari's body freezes where she stands. The black-haired boy's eyes widen considerably. What? Who is it?_

"_Come on!" The other Rebel girl yells to them. "Just get rid of him and we can get back!"_

_Hikari's hands holding the gun are trembling as the guard stands and removes his helmet. Even Hikari herself- the one watching her memories unfold- is stricken with... Something she still can't understand. That sandy hair, those eyes that are just like hers..._

"_-...?" Her voice is barely a whisper._

_It's her brother. Hikari's present self just wants to slap herself now. How could she already forget his voice so quickly?_

"_-... What- Is this-" He takes a step toward her, as does the black-haired boy, just in case. "What're you doing with the Rebels?" There's something in his eyes. It's making them dim, but also making them shine- with what seems to be tears threatening to break free._

"_-... No, I-"_

"_What were you thinking? And you too -," He gestures to the black-haired boy who takes a step back from him. "Why would you-" He breaks off into a strangled cry of pain._

_Any other words said would be useless now._

_Because the other Rebel girl just stabbed him in the back._

_Everything seems to be going in slow motion. The boy draws out a sharp gasp as her brother falls. The girl pulls out her dagger and wipes the blood off with his shirt. Hikari watches in disbelief as her hands let the gun fall._

"_Well? C'mon you two, the coast is clear now- we _have _to go!" And with that she's gone._

"_-..." The boy stutters, Hikari's body is slowly staggering toward the unmoving one of her brother._

"_No... N-No...," Her hands turn the body over. There's blood all over, staining his uniform and probably the inside of his armor, too. She pulls herself close to him. "This can't... Be happening..."_

_There's a hand on her shoulder. The black-haired boy. "I'm sorry, -..." He mutters. She hears herself laugh. But it sounds fake._

"'_Sorry'? Why? This isn't you...," She says, something blurs her vision- tears- as she looks at the rapidly cooling body. His chest is starting to glow a bright white. "This is me... M-My fault." She curses herself._

"_None of this is your fault, okay?" The boy kneels beside her ad smiles at her gently, his hand never leaving her shoulder. They both turned their heads at the sound of yelling and footsteps nearby._

_The boy gets up, his knees bent so he's still close to Hikari's level. "Shit, the Guard is getting close. We gotta go -," He reaches a hand out to her. "Come on."_

_She glances at her brother just as the light floats up from his chest, leaving a small heart to float up to the sky before them. "But..."_

_The boy just reaches and grabs her hand tightly. "We can't bring him with us -, there's no time! I'm sorry, but we have to go- now." He says, already beginning to pull her up along with him. Her brother's head thus falls out of her lap and hits the ground lightly._

_The Guard gets closer as they make a run for it, going as fast as their legs will take them, and as far as the boy plans to pull her along._

_She runs, but she's broken inside, Hikari can feel it... It's very painful._

_Her brother is dead._

* * *

I shoot up from my bed with a yelp, my hand outstretched to nothing. I could feel sweat dripping down my neck.

"Wha..." I breathe, lowering my hand and running the other through my hair.

"Did I just...," I pause to glance at the clock. Six a.m. "See some of Hikari's memories...?"

* * *

**Hmm...not sure if asshole... or just lover of drama...meh**

**so what'd you think? good? bad? rushed? idk?**

**REVIEW BEFORE FAVING/FOLLOWING PLEASE**

**thank you**


	7. Crushed

**I'm very proud of this chapter, yknow, for once in my life. I got back into the rhythm a little bit later in here and even though it feels rushed...its necessarily so! Cause I wanna get on with the plot, so there**

**enjoy**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Crushed**

"_-? Can I come in?" A familiar voice is muffled by the door in front of it as Hikari watches from her other body's eyes inside the room- her room, maybe. She's on a bed, her legs pulled to her chest and her head resting on her knees with her arms wrapped around her legs tightly._

_At first she doesn't respond, then, seems to change her mind._

"_Sure." She mumbles. Hikari thought for a moment that the voice outside wasn't able to hear her, but again, she was wrong. The door creaks open after the turn of the knob- it's the black-haired boy. He has a gentle, but sad look in his eye... At least, Hikari thinks that's what "sad" looks like, if she understands it well enough._

_He takes a step inside. "You uh... The mess hall's about to close for the night, you know. You should eat something." He says. Hikari shakes her head slightly._

"_I'm not hungry." He lowers his eyes for a moment and sighs, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed._

"_He wouldn't want this, -; you know that," He reaches over and rests a hand on her own as her grip on her legs tightens slightly. "He wouldn't want you to suffer because of him. He'd want you to move on- to forget, at least."_

_Hikari's vision is blurred only slightly and she sniffs. "You don't know that. You saw the look in his eyes," She bites her lip and he lowers his head. "He... I've never seen him look so... So _betrayed. _That's how he felt, and that's how he died feeling. Betrayed. I hurt him... I-I can't... Live with that. Talon was my brother, not just some dog of the Guard." She sobs softly._

_Talon... Is that a name? Is that her brother's name? Why is she suddenly only hearing it now?_

_Well... Now is better than never._

_The boy scoots closer to her on the bed. His body is touching hers now. He's so warm... "He was in shock, sure, but there's nothing we can do about that, -. All we can do is remember the good times- keep him in our memory- and not the bad. He's still watching over us- over you." He says, smiling softly, making sure she could see it._

"_Yeah, haunting me, more like," She says, a hint of anger in her voice. She lowers her legs, leaving them sprawled out in front of her. She rubs one eye with the back of her hand. Some of the blurriness in her eyes is gone. "He hates me for what I've done- for where we are." She mutters. The boy squeezes her hand tightly._

"_He could never hate you. He's too... Well... Talon, for that," That actually gets a small laugh out of her and the boy smiles again. "Just don't forget him. That's all that matters." He says._

_Hikari looks over at him as she runs her free hand through her hair. She feels herself smiling at him. "Thanks... Never thought you were one for deep, emotional stuff like that, -." She says and he just shrugs._

"_Eh. What can ya do? Let's just say it's a hidden talent of mine," She breathes a light laugh at that and he leans forward. Just a little. "You know... I was worried about you for a while there. Thought you weren't going to come back..." He mutters. Hikari feels her body shift until she's turned toward him, her legs half-tucked underneath her. She lowers her head a little, her hair brushing against his cheek, some even resting on his shoulder. She looks at him again, his green eyes are so much brighter up close._

"_You know I don't give up that easily, -," She says, raising her hand to touch his cheek. "Not when I have you." She smiles as he does. Their lips are practically touching. That trembling tightness is back in her chest again._

"_Good to know I'm so useful." He smirks, then leans in, their lips touch again as their eyes close. For what seems like forever... What is this? What're they doing? Hikari never got a chance to find out what it was called, she could always ask Sora... But she felt almost as if that were a bad move somehow._

_The boy's arms snake around Hikari's body as her other hand goes to his back. Her body feels warm, it's almost overwhelming. The actions deepen and their bodies are pressed so close together they may as well be one. She can feel something beating rapidly through his chest and clothes. What is that...?_

_After a few more moments, they finally pull apart, breathing heavily. Though they were both smiling._

"_I love you, -." He says as he takes her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. His cheeks are a bright red... She feels her own heat up._

"_I-I love you too." She hears herself mutter and the boy grins wide. There's that word she couldn't understand... Love. Hikari remembers when Sora's mother had tried explaining it to her once, and it didn't work either. Maybe it's something you have to experience first._

_The boy suddenly stands from the bed, pulling her as he went. Despite her protests, he presses on._

"_Will you calm down already? What're you doing?" She hears herself ask._

"_Just get up, -! I haven't even seen you nibble on an apple since we got back from that mission- hell, I could practically feel your ribs through your stupid shirt just now!" He frowns at her. "We don't have much longer until the mess hall closes down for the night. Come on!" He whines and Hikari finally jumps from the bed._

"_Alright, alright, jeez," She frees her hand for the moment to fix her slightly crumpled clothes and looks at him. "Well? Lead the way."_

_The boy grins and takes her hand again. It's warm... Like the rest of his body. Like that thumping she'd felt through his chest; even warmer still... As they're walking, he's already going on and on about the food in the mess hall and she smiles to herself._

"_Thank you." She mutters._

* * *

I never went back to sleep after what I saw, I've only been pacing about in my room. It's not a dream... It was real. Well, as real as watching a memory through someone else's eyes can get.

And I wasn't watching it alone. Hikari was there, watching as well. But I was watching through her, not her memory version- her past self.

"I saw her brother die..." I mutter to myself, shivering at the memory. I don't know if anything happened after that, but I didn't care.

Hikari's memories aren't my business! Sure I ask her about them, but that's different from actually seeing them myself.

"But why...?" _Why did I see them? _It doesn't make any sense, unless...

That spark.

When I pulled Hikari back to her feet after she fell last night. I felt something... Did she feel it too? She didn't show any sign like I did, so maybe not.

But why did it happen? Why the spark? Why am I seeing her memories? The last thing I saw was her brother die- I couldn't even hear their names- and both her and that boy running from the guards. Is that the boy she mentioned before? He held her hand... They must be really good friends.

_Or something else._

I sigh heavily and run a hand through my hair. Their relationship isn't my business either. That guy probably really misses her, whoever he is. But why do I feel like... That should matter to me? That it almost makes me sad?

I can't keep using the excuse that I barely know Hikari, as she does herself too. But we're learning more- teaching her more- and she's becoming a person again. Not just an empty shell. There's something there... Something I have for her, after all, but I don't know what to do about it. I can't tell her, she wouldn't even know what I was talking about.

"Sora?" There's a knock accompanied by the voice at my door. Speak of the devil.

"Hikari?" I pause for a moment and walk to my door and swing it open. "Hey, uh, mor- good morning." I inwardly curse myself for stuttering.

She looks tired- aware, but tired. "What's up?" I ask, noticing myself leaning against the doorframe. I immediately want to slap myself. _Why the hell are you trying to look cool? You're still in your pajamas for Gods' sakes!_

Hikari either doesn't notice my actions or doesn't care. "Talon." She says and I raise a brow at her.

"What's that?" I move aside when she starts to walk inside my room. She almost looks scared, with her hand over her opposite's forearm. She takes a deep breath.

"A name," She mutters. I take a step closer to her. She turns her head to the side, looking at the floor. "My brother's name."

My eyes widen in shock. "You got his name? That's great!" I grin, though it falters when I remember what happened.

"Yeah... But," She pauses and turns to me. Her eyes are wide with hurt. "He's gone. My memory... He's dead too now." She looks a little like she's holding something back- was there something else in the memory past that? Something that happened after I woke up maybe?

"Oh," I lower my eyes. "Hikari, I...," I shouldn't tell her that I saw. I can't. "I'm sorry."

She shakes her head. "N-No... The other boy... I had a second memory. He said it's okay. That he's always watching over me... What does that mean?" She asks, looking up at me with eyes glistening with small tears. I frown.

"What does what mean? Watching over someone?" She nods.

"How would the dead watch over someone? What is it?" She asks again, taking a step closer to me and looking more and more eager for the answer each second.

"Well...," I trail off in thought and cross my arms. "It's like a spiritual thing. When someone dies, if they really care about someone else, they can watch over them... Sort of like a guardian angel. They just want to make sure you're okay and stay happy."

"Okay...," She seems to be taking everything in word by word, making sure she really knows and doesn't forget somehow. She pauses, awkwardly pulling at her sleeves. "Um..."

"Was there something else?" I ask expectantly. Her mouth opens and closes at random, no sound actually coming out. Her face is actually turning red and I have to fight back a shocked expression at her actions. "Did um... Did something else happen?"

"I don't... Know how to ask." She mutters and I raise a brow in confusion before smiling lightly.

"How about you show me then? Would that be easi-"

"No!" She suddenly blurts out and I'm taken aback by her outburst. She blinks and lowers her head again. "N-No uh... No," She walks past me, refusing to make eye contact as she goes back to my door. "I'll see you downstairs." The door shuts behind her.

I frown at the now closed door and rest my hand on my hip, the other ruffling up my hair absently. I let out a sigh and turn around.

"What the heck was that about?"

* * *

"You want to know what love is?"

Hikari nods meekly, her hands folding tightly in her lap. Sora was off with Riku somewhere, so it was just and Kairi now. The redhead preferred to call it "girl time" or something like that.

"Why do you ask?" Kairi asks, then grins wide, an expression that Hikari is almost afraid of now. "Alright, who is it? Is it someone I know? Riku? Come on girl!" She asks eagerly, her fists shaking in anticipation.

"N-No, none of that... I don't think so," She adds when thoughts of Sora come to mind. Kairi never said his name... Why...? "I saw it... I heard it in a memory." She says simply choosing to ignore her mind for the time being.

"Ah, I see. So it's that guy from your home, isn't it?" Kairi asks with a frightening smirk still on her face. "Does he seem nice in your memories? Well, he was obviously nice enough to you to be in a relationship with him. What's he like?" She asks.

"I don't know much...," Hikari trails off in thought for a moment. "Not yet; not even his name. I think... I think his family ran a clinic? I'm not sure... But I joined the Rebels for him. Is that good?" She asks. Kairi nods.

"Yeah. You wanted to be with him, whatever he chose to do. It's a good thing," Hikari cocks her head to the side in confusion and Kairi purses her lips. "Well... Your heart knew what to do."

"My heart...?"

"It's like your brain, only with more feelings, not smarts. With our hearts, we can feel; when we're sad, happy, angry, in love and in pain. We can remember what's important to us and hold it close," Kairi pauses for a moment and then smiles sheepishly at her. "Of course, then there's the actual organ in our body- our physical heart. Or was it a muscle...? That's not the point. The point is... Having a heart is what makes you a person- physical or emotional- and without it you're... Well, you're incomplete."

Kairi looks like she's holding back something else- something about the heart Hikari might not want to know- but she still smiles nonetheless.

She blinks. "Oh! Right, you wanted to know what love was first though." She says, laughing lightly. Hikari nods and leans forward in her seat a little bit, putting her full attention on Kairi.

"It's actually pretty hard to explain, like, you can only really understand it when you feel it, I think. But um... Let's see...," She crosses her arms and looks up at the sky in thought. When she sighs, you can see it in the air. "It's when you really care for someone, you want to stay by their side and you accept them for who they are. There's different kinds of love too- like for your family, your friends, and then that one person you want to start your own family with.

"With family and friends, you love them because they're always there for you, they stay close to you in your heart. Of course with family it's kinda required since you're related to them," Kairi laughs. "But with that one other person, you want something more- something you can't get from loving your friends and family," She has a soft look in her eyes, then blinks it away. "Sorry, this stuff is pretty hard to explain. I hope you get the gist of it though. Hikari?"

"It seems very... Complicated," Hikari breathes. "But I think you're right; it might be easier when I feel it again... Kairi?" The redhead turns to her in question and smiles.

"Yes?"

"Do you have someone you love?" Her eyes widen at the question. "Like... That one person, not the others. Do you have someone?"

"Uh... W-Well I- sort of. I mean- yes, I do," She stutters, her cheeks reddening as she speaks. "Well... I mean I don't _have _him, but I uh... Feel that. Yes." She smiles warmly to herself at her words. Hikari watches carefully from where she sits.

"Is it Sora?"

You could hear a pin drop.

"W-What?!"

Then again, maybe not.

"Wha- no! I mean I'm- c'mon! Sora and I are best friends, I don't-" Hikari's stare doesn't waver and Kairi sighs heavily, knowing this wouldn't help her to understand if she said that. "Alright, yes. It's Sora. Happy?" She fires a mock glare at Hikari and the girl actually flinches. Kairi inwardly groaned; there's so much this girl still doesn't understand.

"Happy...? I don't know." Hikari mutters.

It's silent between the two girls for a while. Trying to explain something to a girl who knows nothing is harder than it seems- especially something like love.

Hikari still doesn't entirely grasp the concept of the word. Is it good or bad? It sounds incredibly difficult to deal with. Could she touch it? If she can- does it burn or is it cool to the touch? Is it painful? And what about Kairi? She loves Sora... Does that mean he has to love her too? Why does something inside of her sting at the thought of it? What about the black-haired boy? How far back was that memory dated? Can you ever stop loving someone...? Did the boy stop loving her? If so... Then did that mean she had no one left waiting for her back in Xanoon? Was she all alone...?

"Hikari? Are you okay?" Kairi's voice tears her from her thoughts and she looks at the redhead. She's staring at her with some sort of look in her eyes she didn't recognize... But the black-haired boy had it before, in her last memory.

"Wh... What? I'm alright." Apart of her feels as if that's a lie. Is it? The look in Kairi's eyes doesn't change except to one of suspicion- as remembered by how Riku used to look at her.

"You're not, Hikari," She says and sits up straight, scooting closer to her a little. "You're crying."

Hikari's vision _did _seem a little blurred, now that she noticed it. She raises a hand to her cheek and, sure enough, it's wet. Her eyes widen.

"What... I... I-I don't-" She cuts herself off, almost afraid of what other nonsense she might say.

"Is it something I said? I'm sorry Hikari." Kairi says with a small frown on her face. Hikari blinks.

"N-No I... I-I don't know," Her voice cracks, the tears flow more freely. She's scared of herself now... What's going on? "I... I-I can't stop. K-Kairi... Why can't I-" A choked sob escapes her lips. Kairi's eyes widen in shock. Her eyes soften and suddenly she pulls Hikari into her arms- a hug, she remembers from her brother.

"It's okay, Hikari. Just let it out, okay? It's good for you." She says.

Hikari does as she's told.

She's not sure if it feels "good for her" or not... But it still scares her. Whycan't she stop...? Is it thoughts black-haired boy making her like this?

"Hikari? Kairi?"

Sora's voice rings in from a distance as he as Riku finally come back- their eyes wide. "What happened?"

Kairi shoots them a look that shuts them up immediately. Riku lowers his eyes while Sora scratches his neck awkwardly. Hikari wants to stop now- _please_, she inwardly begs- but she can't. Whatever force is making her cry like this doesn't want to her to. Not yet.

Riku starts to walk away, maybe choosing to give the girls a few more minutes alone- much to Kairi's relief- and he starts pulling Sora along too.

"Riku! But what about-" Sora starts, but then sighs when Riku whispers something to him. He glances at Hikari one more time before going along with the albino boy.

They don't need an audience for something like this, after all.

* * *

The walk back home is completely silent. Something that usually wouldn't bother me- considering how quiet Hikari usually is- but this time it was almost... Worrying.

She hadn't said a word since I saw her with Kairi- crying on her shoulder like it was the end of the world. I'd never seen her like that before, she doesn't show much emotion because she doesn't know what any of them are. Sure she must've learned about sadness from her last memory- losing your brother could prove to be pretty depressing, after all- but none of us expected her to show so much emotion like that.

What did they talk about while Riku and I were gone? Was it was she'd been afraid to talk to me about? Maybe... But what could it have been to do that to her?

Suddenly there's a sound of shoes scraping against the ground that pulls me away from my thoughts and I turn my head to the sound. Hikari had turned and taken a step away from me toward a different road.

"Hikari? What's the matter?" I ask, cocking my head to the side curiously. She remains silent and I frown. "Hikari...?"

Suddenly she takes off running before I can even register what's happening. My eyes widen in shock.

"Hikari!"

I tear off after her, my hand outstretched like I actually thought I could catch her that easily. She's surprisingly fast, actually. She doesn't stop running either. "Hikari! Wait a sec!"

Either she doesn't hear me or she just won't, but she shows no sign of stopping. We're getting close to the docks again and I let out a gasp.

She's not going to...

She still won't slow down, I realize, as her foot lands on the thick wood of the dock. I kick it into high gear and catch up to her easily this time.

She is.

She even looks like she's still running as she jumps off the edge, toward the cold water below. I reach out and I'm able to grasp her hand tightly, pulling her close to me as I jump off the dock as well.

I hit the water first. It already feels as cold as ice, despite winter not being at its peak just yet. The pins and needles feeling almost freezes me in place- a feeling I'm more than afraid of in a situation like this. Through the water, I look down at Hikari in my arms. She's not moving. I can't see her face through her hair swirling about in the water.

We're slowly sinking, I realize, then I start kicking my feet wildly, relief probably evident on my features as we start coming back up to the surface. I accidentally open my mouth, letting in an annoying amount of the cold sea water. I cough it out as soon as I shoot up past the surface, thankful to finally have some air again. Even if the only air is as cold as the water itself at the moment.

"Oh, my... G-Go...," I stutter through chattering teeth. I look down a my eyes widen again. "H-Hikari!"

She's still in my arms, taking in huge gulps of air while also coughing out a lot of water as well. It didn't look like she'd bothered to hold her breath. I glare up at the dock above us.

"H-Hang on, Hi-Hikari." I mutter and swim us over as best I can to the shore, my legs as heavy as lead and stiff as a board in this water and cold weather. As soon as my free hand touches sand I pull Hikari onto shore first, then myself, coughing up a bit more water as I went.

"Hikari," I mutter, my teeth still chattering against the cold. Hikari pushes herself up on the palms of her hands and moves her wet hair out of her face. Her eyes are wide with fear and what I think might be frustration. "H-Hikari, are y-you okay? Why d-did you do th-that?" I stutter unwillingly. A part of me wants to be angry at her for putting us in this mess, but the other is just glad we're both okay.

"I-I wanted- I j-just wanted to-to see," She stutters in response. She's trembling like a leaf, as I'm sure I am too. I scoot a little closer to her. "I-I want to kn-know... M-My home- Xa-Xanoon... If I-I..." She trails off, water dripping down her cheeks. Or maybe... Tears?

"H-Hikari...?" I start, moving a hand to her cheek. She looks at me through glistening eyes, then lowers them. "Hikari, please." I'm inwardly shocked that I didn't stutter that time.

"Wh-What if... There's n-nothing for me? B-Back in Xanoon? Nothing b-but more fi-fighting, more d-darkness... What if I-I have no one l-left?" She asks and I almost pull back in shock. "The b-boy... He... He-He loved me... I-I think. Wh-What if... What if h-he's gone too? O-Or if he's the o-one who s-sent me here... What if I-I'm alone?"

_He loved her? _Is that was she so afraid to ask me about? Why do I feel almost disappointed by that?

"I-I want to see. I w-want... B-But then I-I don't," She sobs- _sobs- _and leans herself against me. At least we're a little warmer by that now. "I don't kn-know what I'm s-supposed to do."

"Hikari," I breathe. It's so cold... We need to get inside. But I have a feeling Hikari won't even budge right now. "W-We'll get you h-home, okay? I-I promised... But... I-It'll be okay. Even i-if that guy d-doesn't l... Love you anymore, h-he'll still be w-waiting. He'll still b-be there."

I turn her around with what little strength I have right now and I pull her in close. Whether she's stiff from the cold or from me, I'll never know.

"I'll g-go with you, o-okay? You won't be a-alone," I try to stand up with her still in my grip, we manage it, if a little shakily. My knees nearly buckle on the way up, had I no Hikari to lean on. "L-Let's get back. We'll c-catch pneumonia a-at this r-rate, H-Hikari." I smile a little at her and she attempts to rub away her tears, though her face just got wet again due to her clothes being soaked.

She nods, some of her wet hair falling back in her face. I chuckle lightly and move it out of the way. She sniffs.

"Th-Thank you." She mutters, and only now do I realize that my hand never left hers, since I'd grabbed her when she ran off the dock.

Somehow, I didn't mind.

"Not a p-problem," I open my mouth to speak again as we start walking, but I'm cut off by a loud sneeze. I sniff and groan. "Shit, I h-hope I don't have a c-cold." I sneeze again at the same time as Hikari.

Great...

* * *

"What happened to you two?!"

My mom's voice could shatter windows, if she really wanted it to, I feel. It certainly felt loud enough to destroy my eardrums right now.

When we came home, she nearly screamed. And before any words were said, we were both told to take hot showers, change into some dry clothes, and wrap up into blankets as tightly as we could. Even after all that, our teeth were still chattering somehow and I'm sure we still looked blue.

"We fell off t-the dock into the water," I say quickly, before Hikari can tell her what really happened. While my mom is distracted by my response, I glance at Hikari and shake my head and she nods silently.

We wound up having to share the blankets again- with what my mom wanted us to do, there was only enough warmth to go around if she had us wrap up in the few blankets we had together- something I wasn't entirely against. I inwardly slap myself. What am I thinking...?

"Very well," My mom sighs heavily, then she aims a fierce glare at us. "Just be more careful next time. There's no doubt you both have colds- and that's if you're _lucky." _She lowers her eyes and I blink.

"Mom...?" I ask when I see her bite her lip. She takes a step toward us and I fear there's more to this lecture than I thought.

But instead she pulls us both into a strong half-hug. I hear Hikari let out a small gasp at the action and I clear my throat nervously.

"I'm just glad you're both okay," My mom mutters, ten pulls away from us. Hikari lets out a deep breath and I glance at her. She looks surprised. "Now then. You two just warm up and get as much rest as you can, alright? There's no doubt you're sick- so as of now you're both under house arrest." My eyes widen.

"What?!" I cry out and she glares at me. I flinch back and lower my eyes. "Okay..."

"Good. I'll go make some soup for you," She says, and walks into the kitchen. But she peeks around the wall to us one more time, pointing at us. "Do _not, _leave that blanket." And with that she's gone.

I let out a huge sigh of relief and lean back into the couch. "Well, that went better than I thought it would, huh Hikari?" I chuckle lightly and look at her. She nods timidly.

"Mm-hm." She mutters and leans back as well. Her eyes look heavy.

"Hikari, why don't you rest a bit? I'm sure if I can't, then my mom will wake you up when she gets back." I say, but she shakes her head at me.

"I don't want to." It's then I notice that our teeth aren't chattering anymore- a great relief to me. I frown at her.

"Why not?" She mutters something about memories and I lower my eyes. "Hikari... Are you sure you still want to gain them all back...?"

"I...," She trails off and looks at me. She has so much more emotion now... For some reason more than I thought I'd ever see in her. She sighs. "I'm not sure."

"I don't know if there's any way to stop them, but...," I pause. Might as well tell her what I've noticed, at least. She doesn't need to know that I see them too now, that'd probably shake her up too badly. "They do something to you. Since you started remembering, you seemed... Well, sick almost. Don't tell me you haven't noticed, I know you have. I know they're important, but it's like they're hurting you."

She takes a deep breath. "I think so... That time at the docks with Riku, too... It felt like my head was going to split open. But I can't stop them from coming. As much as I might want to...," She looks at me. "I can't."

"So whatever happens, happens?" I ask. She nods and I sigh. "Great..."

"But... It'll be okay," I hear her mutter and I blink. "Because... I have you... Right?" She says, as if asking me if that was the right thing to say. I pause for a few moments, then I grin. Her worries seem to melt away.

"Right," I sigh and lean back as I fold my arms behind my head. "I'll always be here. That's a promise, Hikari."

Something stirs in me, even as I say that. It's been bugging me all day. This feeling I've been getting; when Hikari talks to me, asking me to explain something or if I'm alright; when I'm able to take her out of those dazes every time we're close to the docks; when she hugged me and even today, when I fell into the freezing water with her in my arms. I've been...

Falling for her...?

* * *

**So...yes? No? Maybe-so?**

**I like it, personally, lol. But I shouldn't be talking- YOU should be talking TO ME. Do it! Pretty please? I can't improve if I suck unless you guys tell me ok? Help me out here**

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